


Look At The Past

by SmoakScreen (midwestwind)



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Romance, Smut, college Reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-25
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-06 01:38:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1839625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midwestwind/pseuds/SmoakScreen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity gets an invitation to her five-year class reunion. When Oliver tries to insist she go, she somehow ends up on a plane to Boston with a fake boyfriend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have a lot to say, other than be gentle. I don't usually do multi-chapter fics but this idea simply would not leave me alone once we'd found out Felicity's graduating year. I know very little about MIT or the state of Massachusetts itself and everything in this fic is from countless websites from wikipedia to the official Fenway Park website to the MIT Sloan reunion schedule. This story is already finished and will be three parts. I haven't decided on an upload schedule for it yet though.
> 
> Note: I realize that MIT Sloan is a management school and it can be assumed Felicity would have gone to the actual MIT campus for college but Sloan held a big reunion this summer celebrating 100 years and I took a few liberties for the sake of fiction. Every event attended in this fic is based off of the official reunion schedule as found on their website. If you live in Boston/Cambridge or went to MIT and I completely butcher something, I wholeheartedly apologize and hope you can get past any discrepancies and enjoy this story!

Felicity groans loudly looking at her phone, ignoring the looks this earned her from Oliver and Diggle on the other side of the table at Big Belly Burger. They'd been in the middle of a strategizing session over lunch when her phone alerted her to a new e-mail.

Finally, after a solid minute of her just pouting at her phone, Oliver asked, “Everything okay, Felicity?” Her head snapped up and she turned her phone for them to see the e-mail from her Alma-mater.

“I've been invited to attend my five-year reunion and the 100th anniversary of MIT,” she explains as the both lean forward to read the header of the e-mail. John shakes his head with a smirk and leans back against the seat but Oliver looks confused.

“And this is a bad thing?” He asks, looking between the two.

“Of course it is!” Felicity nearly yells, forgetting about their very public setting. John is chuckling now and Felicity shoots him a glare.

“Why? I'm sure college wasn't all bad,” Oliver insists, still looking confused by her aversion to reunions. Felicity shakes her head, clicking out of the e-mail and locking her phone.

“College was great,” she explains, “but reunions are all about people coming back and showing off their kids or their husbands or fiances or whatever.”

“And?”

“Well, I don't know if you've noticed but I'm a little lacking in the whole 'husband and kids' area.” Felicity stabs her fork viciously into her cheese fries, thinking for a moment about poor comatose Barry and whoever _Iris_ is. “Showing up at a reunion single is just asking to be labeled pathetic.”

“Shouldn't an MIT reunion be about how far you've come in your career?” John asks before taking a bite of his burger. Felicity sends him another glare that he actually has the decency to shrink under.

“I'm not exactly booming in that area, either,” she snaps. John looks properly chastised and nods.

“Sure, but four years at Queen Consolidated is nothing to sneeze at,” he tries.

“Three years,” she corrects, “before I was suddenly downgraded to a glorified secretary. I'll look like a sell out if I try to tell that story.” Felicity drops her fork and crosses her arms, returning to pouting. John watches her, amused, but Oliver looks guilty.

“So, lie,” he says suddenly and she looks at him like he's crazy.

“What?”

“Lie. Don't talk about the year as my executive assistant, just explain that Queen Consolidated went through an acquisition that ended with it being gutted and you losing your job. It's not even really a lie,” he shrugs, “just a spin on the story.”

“I'm not going to lie about some boyfriend or whatever back home, though,” she insists and he looks amused.

“Then, don't. I'll go with you.”

“Come again?”

Felicity's not sure how that conversation ended with Oliver convincing her to go to the reunion to brag about how “successful” and “important” she was at QC before the acquisition and how Oliver – her “boyfriend”, by the way, apparently – only met her because he needed technical assistance and she came highly recommended.

Nor is she sure how, a few weeks later, she'd actually agreed to get on a plane and fly to Massachusetts with her “boyfriend”. John had gotten out of tagging along by insisting he needed to stay on the proper coast in case Lyla needed him.

“I hate you,” Felicity tells Oliver from her window seat as she watches the plane lift off of the runway. Oliver closes his eyes in annoyance.

“Why don't you try to sleep?” He offers and she turns her face from the window to glare at him.

“Because I'm afraid of heights and flying and, you know, general death,” she hisses, trying not to share her fears with the rest of the passengers. Not that the 1:50am flight was exactly crowded and first class afforded quite a bit of privacy. Oliver was having trouble adjusting to being broke. He gives her a look from his own seat and rolls his neck.

“Do you want a sleeping pill?” He asks, shifting in his seat to get comfortable.

“Do you want me to shut up that bad?” He just stares at her. “Fine.” She gives in and he digs out the bottle of pills he's slipped in her carry on, dumping two into his hand and offering her one. They wait until the seat belt sign comes off and a stewardess offers them drinks before sharing a bottle of water and downing their separate pills. Felicity sighs as she watches Oliver slip off into sleep surprisingly much easier than her.

She wakes to him shaking her shoulder lightly. Jolting, she sits up and adjusts her glasses on her nose, surreptitiously sliding her hand over her mouth to check for drool. Satisfied, she buckles her seat belt and looks over at him.

Yeah, how could this possibly go wrong?

It takes them less than twenty minutes to get from Logan International Airport in Boston to the MIT campus. By 10:30am they're waiting in line at registration to get their day started and, as far as Felicity's concerned, try and make it through the weekend unscathed.

“Hi, Felicity Smoak, class of 2009,” she tells the smiling girl at the registration table when they reach the front of the line, she looks over at Oliver and motions vaguely with her hand, “and, uh, guest.” He gives the girl a charming smile that makes Felicity want to roll her eyes.

“Oliver Queen.” The girl's eyes widen slightly as she processes the name and Felicity holds in a sigh. The girl looks down and digs through a box of papers before finding their names and pulling out two badges and an envelope of information for Felicity. She greets them enthusiastically and gives them the run down of what to do from there on out. It's all a little too reminiscent of orientation for Felicity's taste. The girl's continuing to welcome them – maybe simply to prolong her exposure to the famous Oliver Queen – when Felicity feels a hand on her arm.

“I'm sorry, Felicity Smoak you said?” A familiar voice says and Felicity jolts, spinning on the toe of her sensible beige flats. A dark skinned woman with a sleek bob grins at her.

“Arianna Swenson?” Felicity asks, her smile growing and becoming genuine. “Oh, wow, hi! You look amazing!” Arianna fluffs her bob sarcastically.

“Please, me? You! Damn, girl, you're gorgeous! And don't let any of the assholes here try to insinuate any differently.” Felicity laughs and shakes her head at the woman's bluntness.

“I see you haven't changed much.”

“But you clearly have,” Arianna says eying Oliver behind Felicity, “you seem to have lost your manners.”

“Oh! Sorry. Oliver, this is Ari, she was my roommate. Ari this is Oliver my,” she falters for a moment before regaining her composure, “boyfriend.” Oliver gives another of his signature CEO smiles and holds his hand out to Arianna. The other woman shakes it before turning and searching the crowd.

“Shane's around here somewhere,” she says, turning back to Felicity. “We got separated when he went off to talk to an old professor.”

“Shane?” Felicity asks with a raised eyebrow. “Shane _Collins_?”

“Yes, Smoak,” Arianna laughs, “Shane Collins. Look, I have to find him and get us registered. I'll look for you guys at lunch!” She gives Felicity's hand a squeeze with a grin before bouncing off in the other direction. Felicity's smile falls as she turns to face Oliver, looking down at the badge with her name and class year on it in her hand.

“Out of the frying pan,” she murmurs, turning to head toward the door and find their first activity, “and into the hellmouth.”

The first half of their day is a surprisingly long seminar on LinkedIn that makes Felicity feel like she's back in college and should be taking notes. She can tell Oliver is dying and barely comprehending half of the jargon. Leave it to MIT to make a reunion feel like a return to being a student.

“Regretting bringing me yet?” She murmurs, leaning towards Oliver. He turns his head and their faces are too close but she refuses to back off.

“Nope,” he insists but sinks a little lower in his chair, looking like a bored child. Felicity sighs and returns her attention to the speaker.

The seminar ends just in time for lunch in the Bacardi lounge on the floor above them. She's only just stepped through the door when she hears a booming voice call through the crowd.

“Smoking Hot Smoak!” Felicity stumbles, Oliver bumping into her from behind, and seeks out the source of the shout.

“Cheesy Ass Chester,” she grins sardonically at the tall, thin Indian man moving towards her. He doesn't hesitate to scoop her into a hug she halfheartedly returns.

“How are you, baby?” He asks after he's pulled away, but kept his hands on her upper arms.

“Good! Have you met my boyfriend?” She asks with a smirk, motioning to Oliver who, while the same height as the other man, manages to dwarf him in size. Chester takes a step back, his hands dropping from Felicity's arms as he eyes Oliver behind her.

“Still feisty, girl, I got it,” Chester grins. He opens his mouth to speak but is cut off when Arianna shows up.

“Felicity!” She calls, stopping to give Chester a tired look. “Oh, good, you found Chester.” Chester throws his hands up in indignation.

“No love! I am wholeheartedly insulted here.” Felicity rolls her eyes and focuses her attention on Arianna.

“You know, you have to tell me about you and Shane, right? I have to assume there's a story there.” Arianna nods but eyes Oliver as he slides in closer to Felicity, watching Chester with a little hostility.

“Yeah, well, I'm sure you have some stories of your own.” When Felicity doesn't respond, she continues, “come on, we saved you seats.” They follow Arianna towards a table in the back and Felicity notices Oliver looks surprised when no one protests Chester tagging along as well.

“Oh, don't let it fool you,” she whispers, elbowing him gently, “we really do love Chester.” They reach a round table just under the panoramic window where a man with neat dark hair in a crisp white dress shirt sits in one of the seats. The table is empty otherwise and Arianna slides in next to the man, pulling Felicity down on her opposite side. Oliver sits to her left and Chester seats himself on the other side of the unknown man.

“Hey, Felicity,” the man greets, leaning forward to smile and give a short wave. Felicity smiles and nods back.

“Shane,” she acknowledges. “This is Oliver. Oliver, Shane.”

“I didn't get an introduction,” Chester grumbles from the other side of the table. Arianna gives him a look.

“Let me guess, you were too busy being too touchy for everyone's comfort?” Chester shrugs and looks around.

“So, do we get served or is there a bar or something? I need a drink before this whole shindig begins.” Arianna and Shane both shrug.

“They better not be doing some buffet shit,” Arianna complains, smoothing her hand down her emerald green cotton blouse. “What is with this whole business casual dress code?” Shane and Chester nod their agreement. Felicity considers that “business casual” is dressing down for Oliver who used to wear a full suit to work every day as CEO.

“At least you had the good sense to wear pants,” Felicity offers, shifting in her navy pencil skirt and eying Arianna's black slacks with envy.

“Hey, babe, at least you wore flats,” she counters, flashing Felicity her black pumps under the table. Felicity nods in sympathy. The table lapses into silence as Felicity glances around the room, warily watching for familiar faces. After a little while, the meal is explained to be a buffet and an open bar, earning a groan from Arianna and a fist pump from Chester.

Once they're all seated, Chester and Oliver being the only ones to have made use of the open bar of the five, and tucking into their meals, Arianna claps her hands together twice, earning looks from everyone at the table but Shane.

“Okay,” she grins at Felicity, “story time!”

“You first,” Felicity counters.

“No way,” Arianna shakes her head. “You missed your chance. Come on, then, story.” Felicity sighs and takes a bite of her pasta to delay it, unsure what version of events to even tell. The lie about a cappuccino or a bullet ridden laptop? A romantic first date or bleeding in the back seat of her Mini Cooper? Mercifully, Oliver steps up to the task.

“I'll tell it,” he offers and she vaguely realizes this is the first time he's spoken since ordering his rum and coke. Felicity waves her hand in a “be my guest” gesture and Arianna leans forward to get a better view of Oliver.

“I don't know if you all know, but I kind of missed out on five years worth of technological advancement,” he starts and the table stays quiet but Arianna nods in understanding and urges him on. “Well, I went into QC hoping to get some technical assistance with my laptop and Felicity came highly recommended.” He grins proudly at this and Felicity tries not to let herself believe it's genuine. Usually, she can decipher between his bullshit and his sincerity but it's been harder and harder lately.

“So, I walk in and there's this beautiful woman sitting there and she just starts talking.” This part earns chuckles from the group at large as Felicity's eyes drop to her plate in embarrassment, remembering talking about his dead father and her babbling.

“Love at first sight sounds lame but I was taken with her, at the least. I kept finding these ridiculous reasons to come in and ask her specifically for help,” he chuckles at the memories as if they were real and he were reliving them. “Eventually, she called me out for the stupid, demeaning shit I was having her help me with just for the chance to talk to her and I finally just owned up and asked her out.” That seemed to be the end of the story as Oliver placed his hand atop hers and Felicity studied her plate considering the interesting take on history he'd just written for her friends.

She murmured, “and the rest, as they say..,” _is bullshit_ , she finished her mind.

Arianna “aww”ed appropriately and Chester shook his head, taking a drink from his scotch. Shane smiled at Arianna who still appeared taken with the whole thing. Yeah, Oliver really sold it. Felicity tried not to sigh as she looked over at Arianna.

“You're turn,” she smiled, dying to change the subject from her and Oliver. “Come on, seriously, how did _this_ ” - she motions to Arianna and Shane - “happen?” Arianna laughs and Shane shakes his head.

“Not easily,” he comments as Arianna settles in to tell the story.

“You remember, right after graduation, Shane and I were interviewing for the same job with Google?” Felicity nods, scooping more pasta into her mouth. “Well, they ended up hiring us both. Which, in hindsight, was really great! But at the time all it managed to do was make us both wickedly competitive with one another. I don't know, really, how it happened but one thing led to another-”

Here, Shane cuts her off, “buckets of unresolved sexual tension.” Arianna barks a laugh as Chester snorts and Felicity shakes her head. Oliver's hand, still resting on hers, is taking more of her attention than she'd care to admit.

“Yeah, and there's that. One night, we're screaming at each other after everyone else has gone home and the next we're going at it against the wall of his cubicle,” Arianna finishes, with a wave of her hand that exhibits the shiny diamond adorning her ring finger. Felicity grins.

“Well, that was.. unexpected,” she laughs and Chester shakes his head.

“Please,” he counters, “it was bound to happen. All that yelling and fighting, it's foreplay for type As like those two.” Oliver shrugs.

“He's right. That kind of stuff is usually bound to come to a head one way or another,” he hesitates and makes a face. “Uh, no pun intended.” Chester snorts into his glass again and Arianna shakes her head,

“I like you,” Chester grins, waving his glass towards Oliver who smiles at the praise as Felicity smiles at him.

After lunch, they move as a group to exit the lounge.

“So, who has what next?” Chester asks as they move in the slow procession out of the room.

“God, this is so college,” Arianna groans and Felicity nods.

“I hate to break it to you, babe, but we're _at_ college,” Shane smirks, wrapping his arm around Arianna's waist as she shoots him a glare.

“Whatever. We signed up for that Admissions Workshop,” she tells Chester who looks at Felicity and Oliver expectantly. Felicity shrugs.

“We didn't sign up for anything for a few hours,” she tells them, “I figured I'd show Oliver around campus, take him down to the main campus, maybe.” It sounds like the type of thing she'd do with a boyfriend, so she goes with it. Plus, she wants to see the campus again. Chester nods.

“I saw Professor Wilkes a few weeks ago and promised I'd be attending his seminar,” he tells them. “Dude's just as crazy as he was five years ago.”

“He wasn't _crazy_ ,” Felicity laughs, “he was just, you know, _eccentric_!” Arianna nods in agreement but Shane shakes his head.

“Whatever,” Chester rolls his eyes, “you both just had crushes on him because he was young and brilliant and moderately attractive.” Shane smirks at the women and nods his agreement with Chester's assessment.

“Yeah, well, if you were female, you'd understand,” Arianna counters.

“If I were female, I'd never leave my room,” Chester smirks salaciously, earning a face from Felicity and a light slap on the arm from Arianna.

“We're signed up for the Duck Tour,” Felicity offers, banking on the change of topic.

“Oh, cool, us too!” Arianna grins, motioning to Shane.

“I'm not,” Chester shrugs, “I live here, I don't need a tour.”

“The what tour?” Oliver asks, looking at Felicity with that confused puppy face.

“The Duck Tour,” she explains. “You get on this World War II boat and they take you touring around Boston. It's this big famous thing. It'll be fun, I promise.” He nods.

“Should we meet for the dinner before Pops?” Chester asks, looking around at the group as they finally reach the doorway. Arianna and Shane nod.

“Sure, why not?” Felicity shrugs.

The tour of campus is nice but uneventful. The walk down memory lane leaves Felicity wistful and a little sad. Oliver is mostly quiet and she remembers that he'd spent his college years marooned on an island learning to be angry and vengeful. Learning to be a killer in the name of redemption. They're sitting on a bench, early for the Duck Tour and waiting for the rest of the people who bought tickets to begin to show up when she turns to him suddenly.

“Why are we here?” He looks at her, surprised by the question.

“Because you bought us tickets,” he offers and she rolls her eyes.

“You know what I meant,” she insists and he sighs, leaning back against the metal bench. He's quiet for a while and she begins to think he might not answer her but she waits him out anyway.

“I'm jealous,” he tells her and, at her frown, rushes to continue, “I didn't get to have any of this. And it's not just because of the accident. I was done trying to be someone worth a damn before I ever got on that boat. These memories you have, the friends you made, they're important. I didn't want you to regret not getting to relive them just because our.. activities.. don't leave you anytime to find someone who realizes just how remarkable you are.” He stares into her eyes for a moment and she has to break the contact but replaces it by covering his hand on his leg with her own.

“Thank you, Oliver,” she says quietly, meeting his eyes again, just as intense as they'd been before but now she's taken in by them, unable to break the stare.

“Hey, now, you two! No bedroom eyes, there might be children coming on this thing!” They jolt out of the moment and turn to find Ari and Shane walking up to them, hands laced together between them. Felicity gives a sarcastic smile.

“Thanks for screaming that across campus, Ari,” she glares and Arianna just gives her a smug smile and a “what can ya do” kind of shrug.

“Seriously though, folks,” Arianna says when she reaches them and drops down on the bed, “you two are the least touchy couple I've ever seen.” Felicity shrugs, pulling her hand away from Oliver's and clasping it with her other one in her lap.

“We're just not PDA people,” she offers as an explanation.

“Oh, please,” Arianna scoffs, “would a public kiss kill you?”

“It might,” Felicity glares as Oliver chuckles beside her, shaking his head.

“Back home, it's a short jump from a public kiss to ending up plastered all over the gossip rags,” he explains and Arianna nods in understanding.

“Well, you're not in Starling City anymore,” she grins, standing up as a larger group begins to form and pulling Shane away by the hand. Felicity stands to follow them and feels Oliver's hand slip into hers. She looks down at the joined hands, taking a fortifying breath before following the other couple.

At the end of the tour, after they've seen all the historic sights and are heading back towards campus, Arianna and Shane are sitting in the bench across the aisle from Felicity and Oliver. Arianna is curled up against Shane's side and Oliver has his arm around Felicity's shoulder.

“So, what's the deal with Chester, exactly?” Oliver finally asks the question he's been wondering since lunch. Arianna throws her head back and laughs.

“Chester's a big sweetheart,” she informs him, “he just likes to pretend to be a player, really. He's good entertainment and always has a way out in a pickle. Felicity and I met him sophomore year when he tried to hit on both of us at once and he just sort of stuck.”

“He's odd,” Felicity continues for Arianna, “but you get used to him.”

Oliver squeezes her shoulders gently and murmurs for just her, “Well, I did get used to you.” She rolls her eyes but can't fight off the smile.

“Whatever, jerk,” she whispers with a light shove at his chest. She sees his eyes flick behind her to Arianna and Shane before coming back to hers. Suddenly he lowers his lips down to hers and she's sure the whole boat can hear her heart ramming against her ribcage as he gives her a quick, soft kiss. She stares at him wide-eyed as he pulls away from her.

“They're watching us,” he murmurs so only she can hear and suddenly it all makes sense. Solidifying a cover. Right. She nods and tries not to ruin it by looking confused or surprised or whatever emotion might be covering her face as she looks back to Ari and Shane. Her first kiss with Oliver Queen – a fake kiss meant for someone else's benefit. Yeah, that's definitely not how she'd ever pictured it going down.

“So, what's Pops?” Oliver asks. “I heard you mention it earlier.”

“It's, uh, the Boston Pops Orchestra preforms Mozart with the Professor of Music from MIT at the Boston Symphony Hall,” Felicity explains.

“It can get really boring if the orchestra isn't your thing but it's tradition so everyone goes,” Arianna says, leaning across Shane towards the aisle. “Unfortunately, I didn't know you guys were coming so I doubt our seats will be together.”

“Yeah,” Felicity says slowly, “to be honest, I didn't really know I'd be coming either. Oliver convinced me.” _Oh, look, the truth!_ She thinks, _I was wondering when I'd be seeing you again_.

“Well, then, hooray for Oliver!” Arianna grins.

“Yeah,” Felicity murmurs, studying her hands, “hooray for Oliver.”

Dinner goes off without a hitch, Oliver taking well to Chester and vice versa. It surprises her that stoic, no nonsense Oliver would take so easily to goofy Chester and she considers all the parts of Oliver Queen she doesn't quite know yet. The thought makes her sad and she tries to steer her brain away from it by participating in the conversation. She remembers why she'd enjoyed her little college group so much. They all talked just as much as her, leaving little time for her to put her foot in her mouth. Oliver barely stops touching her at all through the meal and it makes Felicity wants to scream as she has to keep reminding herself it isn't real, none of this is real.

They're halfway through the orchestra when Oliver's head lands heavily on her shoulder. She realizes quickly that he's fallen asleep and how ridiculous it must look to those around them, this large man, bowed over with his head on her shoulder. He turns his head in his sleep and his lips brush against the side of her neck. She sucks in a sharp breath and prods at his thigh with her index finger.

“Oliver,” she hisses. He hums quietly and turns his head, his lips brushing more firmly against her neck as his hand finds her hip. _Great_ , she marvels inwardly, _he's a sleep groper_. She pokes him in the leg more firmly and he jolts awake, his hand on her hip tightening almost painfully.

“Oliver,” she hisses again, batting at his hand. He realizes how tightly his grip is and releases immediately, looking at her apologetically. She waves it off.

“Just stay awake, okay?” He nods and they return their attention to stage. Felicity considers how many different sides of Oliver she's discovered just in the past twenty-four hours and let's out a heavy sigh before attempting to immerse herself in the music.

Afterwards, they meet up with Chester, Arianna, and Shane again outside.

“What do you have scheduled for tomorrow?” Arianna askes, resting heavily against Shane, clearly struggling to stay upright in her heels. Felicity pulls her tablet out of her bag and pulls up her itinerary.

“Um, the Fenway Park tour, lunch with the graduates, a seminar about women in the workplace, and the Class Dinner,” she reads off, scrolling with her finger. Arianna nods.

“We'll meet up at the bus, then,” she says fighting back a yawn, “but I'm exhausted. We'll see you guys tomorrow.” Shane wraps his arm around her and leads her away as she waves back at the other three. Chester shrugs.

“Guess that ends our night,” he chuckles, watching them walk down the sidewalk before turning back to Felicity and Oliver. “I'll see you guys in the morning. Stay smokin'.” He grins and shoots finger guns at Felicity who rolls her eyes.

“Night, Cheesy.” She waves him away before turning to Oliver, “Ready to find our hotel before it's too late to check in?”

He nods, “Check in goes until eleven o'clock. Hopefully it's not that far away.” He turns and looks around for a taxi, waving down the first one he sees.

They reach their hotel by 10:30 and it only takes about five minutes to check in and get up to their room. They each take a room key for themselves and Oliver immediately takes in the room, every exit and access point. Felicity would be annoyed if she didn't understand his need to feel like he always has a way out. She drops her suitcase on a bench seat on the outside wall of the bathroom and Oliver leaves his duffel bag next to the couch.

As Felicity sits in the middle of the bed and pulls her tablet out, he begins readying the couch underneath the window with a single pillow and a thin blanket from the closet. Felicity watches him warily from the bed, her tablet resting forgotten in her lap.

“You do realize you're, like, twice the size of that couch, right?” Oliver turns and give her a dry look causing her to throw her hands up in defense. “It's not my fault you're seven feet tall and built like a truck!” His face scrunches in confusion at her assessment before he shakes his head and returns to flattening the blanket over the cushions.

“I'm 6'1,” he argues, “you're just short.” She crosses her arms and huffs in indignation. She continues to watch him for a few minutes before sighing in annoyance.

“Oh, my God, Oliver, just share the bed with me,” she says suddenly and he spins and stares at her like she's grown another head or two. She rolls her eyes.

“I offered you the bed, not my virtue,” she says before she can stop herself, grimacing at herself before shaking her head and pressing on. “That couch will kill your back and we have a lot more to do tomorrow.”

“You realize I spent five years mostly sleeping on the hard dirt, don't you?”

“Yes, and where have you been sleeping since you've been back? A mansion.” He doesn't move and she slaps her hands down on the bed in frustration. “Jesus Christ, Oliver, just take the bed, okay? I'll take the couch.”

“I'm not making you sleep on the couch,” he counters, leaning back against the arm of the sofa, crossing one ankle over the other. It'd be hot if she weren't so annoyed with him. Well, okay, it's hot anyway.

“You're not _making_ me do anything. This is me offering.”

“And this is me declining.” She takes a deep breath, counts to three slowly in her head, and bounces off the bed, depositing her tablet on the bedside table.

“Fine, whatever. Do whatever you want. I'm going to change.” She digs through her suitcase for a minute before stalking off to the bathroom. She changes into a pair of sleep shorts and an old MIT t-shirt, washes her face, and pulls her hair up. When she comes out of the bathroom, he stretched out on one side of the bed, his hands behind his head and his ankles crossed, the TV on quietly.

“You were right,” is all he gives her but it's enough to make her smile smugly. He heads to the bathroom to change and she settles into the bed and flips through the channels until she lands on an old episode of _Friends_. She barely pays it any attention as she picks her tablet back up and checks her Alumni account. If she's being honest, she still isn't sure why she let Oliver convince her to come to this, much less with him pretending to be her boyfriend.

Just as she's considering this, he comes out of the bathroom in boxers and an undershirt.

Yeah, this was a _huge mistake_.

She gives him a hesitant smile and lifts the covers, slipping underneath them. Oliver grabs the blanket from the couch and lays on top of the duvet, pulling the extra blanket on top of him. They face opposite directions as he turns off the light and she clicks off the TV but she can practically feel the tension in their bodies through the mattress as they settle in for sleep. She sighs at how ridiculous it is and tries to force the tension from her shoulders and herself into sleep. Felicity falls asleep with a solid foot and half of space between her and Oliver.

And wakes up with less than an inch.

She wakes up to the pressure in her bladder informing her of its need for a bathroom. Which she'd be happy to oblige if she weren't so warm and didn't have a large man wrapped around her. That thought gives her pause.

She shifts her head as best she can but Oliver has his arms around her and his face nestled into the back of her neck. To be fair, with the duvet and two sheets between them, the only skin contact is his nose against the back of her neck. But it's enough to make her tingle. She groans, her bladder screaming at her now, and tries to wiggle out of his embrace. No give. She sighs and bites the bullet.

“Oliver,” she calls out quietly, hoping not to startle him and end up in a choke hold or accidentally thrown from the bed. “Oliver!” She feels him begin to stir, his nose brushing back and forth against her neck and sending a shiver down her spine. She tries his name once more, with a little more force.

“Wha? Felicity? Is everything okay?” That does it. She can feel the moment he realizes their position. He tenses, begins to pull away slowly, and then retreats all at once. Felicity doesn't stick around for chit chat, instead jumping up and all but sprinting for the bathroom. She pees quickly, washes her hands, and tries to will the flush from her face.

When she comes out again, her eyes have to readjust to the dark and she feels her way towards and onto the bed. As soon as she's settled, Oliver's voice startles her.

“I'm sorry,” he says hesitantly, his voice rough with sleep, “about that.” Felicity shakes her head, figures his eyes are probably adjusted and he can see her well enough. Hopefully not well enough to see the returning blush.

“No, it was fine – more than fine – I just really had to pee.” She let's out an awkward chuckle and slips back under the covers, returning to her previous position. She notes that it's actually much colder without Oliver wrapped around her. And then has to physically stop from slapping herself when she realizes she'd said it aloud.

She feels him shift, hesitate, then begin shifting again and thinks he might be reconsidering the couch when his arms suddenly come around her again. It's less tight and there's definitely no skin contact this time but it warms her in more way than one and she falls back into an easy sleep.

The next time she wakes up, the sun is well above the horizon but her alarm hasn't started going off yet. Oliver's arms are still around her but she's turned into him, wrapped her arms around him in return, separate blankets be damned. She stirs some, trying to alleviate some of the stiffness in her body, and his eyes flutter open. He blinks once, twice, meets her eyes.

Whether it's out of confusion or instinct Felicity doesn't know but before she can register it, Oliver's lips are coming forward to meet hers. As soon as they reach their mark, without real thought, Felicity is immediately responding to him.

And boy, oh boy, does it escalate from there.

As soon as she responds enthusiastically to him, he's pulling her on top of him so she's straddling him and pulling her chest flush against his, kissing her with an urgency she's never seen from him before. Her hands run up his chest, to the back of his neck, into his short hair. She tips his head, allowing her kiss a better angle and his hands slip down from her shoulders to her lower back until his fingers are dancing dangerously along the strip of skin between her t-shirt and her shorts.

Felicity isn't conscious of having sent the command from her brain down to her hips but suddenly she's rocking against him and feels a little flare of pride when he gasps into her mouth before moving his lips across her jaw line, in a slow line down her neck.

She lets out a short, breathy moan, and his hands fist in the fabric of her maroon t-shirt.

“Fuck, Felicity,” he groans, and she hadn't realized how badly she needed confirmation that he knew what was happening, who it was happening with, until she gets it. And then she starts fumbling with his shirt, dying to get it over his head, to touch the skin underneath without bandages or gauze or blood involved. He sits up to help pull the garment over his head and she immediately sets to work on discovering the new skin with light touches and small kisses. She can feel Oliver tensing underneath her though, and it makes her want to scream.

“Felicity, I-” she cuts him off with a kiss which he returns with enthusiasm, his hands slipping around to her front to slide his thumbs over her breasts. It spurs her forward and her hands slide slowly down his scarred and roughened skin, over his abs, south toward the elastic of his boxers. He's panting against her mouth in anticipation and she can just hear her own harsh breathing over the blood rushing in her ears.

Her fingers have just slipped between the elastic and his skin when the harsh wailing of the alarm clock sends them flailing apart. Oliver is silent as he hits the snooze button, though maybe with more force than necessary, but Felicity allows herself one annoyed groan as she flops back onto her side of the bed. She closes her eyes and waits a minute for her breathing to slow and her skin to cool.

“I'll shower first,” is all she says before she slips out of bed.

She dresses as he showers and tries to steer her brain towards their itinerary for the day and not the thought of Oliver's hands sliding up her shirt. She pulls her hair in to a high ponytail and drops onto the bed with a sigh, pulling her tablet towards her to check which events she'd signed up for today.

“Relax, Felicity,” she commands herself as she hears the shower shut off a few minutes later. She replaces her tablet in her bag and moves toward the mirror on the wall to apply her makeup. She's finishing applying her bright pink lipstick when Oliver comes out of the bathroom, already dressed in a crisp light blue dress shirt and a pair of black suit pants.

She turns to him, trying to force a smile on her face but it's replaced by confusion when she catches him smiling at her. Felicity looks down at herself, smoothing her hands down her skirt, before returning her wide eyes to him.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he chuckles. She stares at him as he hesitates before adding, “you were wearing that when we met.” Felicity turns back to the mirror, studying the light pink blouse and printed skirt. She tries to ignore the rush she feels at that idea of him remembering that.

“Oh,” she says shortly, “I'm surprised you remember. What with the bullet ridden laptop you were dealing with.” She smirks and turns back to him, tossing her makeup bag toward the bed. He grins and shakes his head.

“I still don't know why you even helped me,” he admits. She raises an eyebrow and gives him a 'duh' face.

“You had the ability to have me fired if I didn't.” He looks down at the bed and she moves toward her suitcase to find her shoes. “Plus, I mean, you're super hot so..” She drops her head as soon as the words leave her mouth. They were definitely supposed to stay in her head. Oliver chuckles behind her and she puts extra attention into sliding her black flats on her feet.

“Okay, so, we should have breakfast either here or find a diner or something on the way and then the bus leaves for Fenway Park at 10:45,” she tells him after a minute, once her shoes are on her feet and her cheeks have cooled.

Oliver shrugs, “I think I saw a Waffle House on the way in.” Felicity raises an eyebrow.

“You think or you know?” He gives her a dry look that reminds her who she's talking to and she nods, standing up and flipping her suitcase closed. She doesn't bother to zip it as she puts her makeup bag, phone, and the key card in the purse she'd put her tablet in and heads for the door.

“That'll do,” she says, tugging the door open and looking back at Oliver who hesitates near the bed.

“Felicity,” he says softly and she immediately knows what's coming, “shouldn't we talk about..?” He trails off and motions vaguely towards the bed but Felicity is already shaking her head.

“No, forget it.” He looks like he's about to argue so she holds a hand up and presses on, “look, we just have to make it through three more days and then we're home free. Back to real life.” She doesn't wait for him to respond as she turns and slips out of the hotel room and starts down the hall toward the elevator.


	2. Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the feeback! A few things on a couple of comments I've received; 1) I know Oliver comes off a bit OOC in this and - while I agree to an extent because I simply haven't been writing him lately and I'm a little rusty - you also have to remember that in the scenes with Felicity's friends he's definitely playing his Oliver Queen~ role rather than just being himself. 2) I know that the whole "fake relationship for some time of gathering" thing has been done to death in every fandom ever (it's because it's a good fun trope to write, let's be honest), I've honestly only ever read one other story in this trope for Oliver and Felicity and that was a year ago and it was definitely a different type of story than what I've created (probably a better one, too, because damn that story was hot).
> 
> As always, feedback is really appreciated thank you guys so much for continuing with this story if you're here! Now, on to the chapter!

It takes a tense seven minutes to find the Waffle House Oliver had mentioned. During which the only conversation comes from the cab driver asking where they're headed and Oliver responding. At the restaurant, they don't speak until the waitress asks for their orders. Oliver orders two plain pancakes and Felicity orders a Belgian waffle with berries on top.

Halfway through his pancakes, Oliver finally speaks up, “So, a tour of Fenway Park?”

“Yup,” Felicity nods, pushing a strawberry around the syrup on her plate. “You ever been?” Oliver shakes his head in response. “Yeah, me neither. I didn't go to any games or anything during college.”

“The Queens weren't big on organized sports that didn't involve dressing up and showing off our stature,” he admits quietly, like he's ashamed of how his family used to act. Felicity considers that with his mother dead and Thea off figuring out who she is when she's not a Queen, Oliver is left to uphold, redeem, and pass on the Queen name.

“Well, I figured it was better than making you sit through another seminar. I only have one thing from nine a.m. until noon tomorrow and then a presentation by the dean followed by a reception,” she tells him, cutting off another bite of her waffle. “So most of our day tomorrow is free at least. We can go into the city or something.” She shrugs and stuffs the bite in her mouth as Oliver nods.

“Our flight leaves at five on Sunday night,” he tells her, checking his phone to be sure.

“The barbeque is only until three on Sunday so that should give us plenty of time to pack up and check out. You asked the hotel about getting a late check out time, right?”

“Yeah,” he nods. “They said check out is usually at eleven but with the reunion being this weekend they've extended it until six Sunday night.” Felicity nods and they lapse back into an uncomfortable silence. The waitress comes back, Oliver pays the bill, and they head back towards campus.

By the time they reach the rendezvous spot for those going on the tour, a large group has already amassed. A large variety of people, from children of alumni to the elderly, wait for the bus to arrive. Arianna and Shane show up a few minutes after them. Shane sports a Red Sox jersey that Felicity doubts fits the “business casual” dress code but it's paired with a pair of tan khaki pants. Arianna sports a light grey shirtdress and a red baseball cap. She immediately notices Felicity eying the cap and puts up a hand.

“Not a word, Smoak!” Felicity throws her hands up in defense and stays silent.

“I'd forgotten what a die hard you are, Shane,” she says instead. He nods and throws his hand up in a fist pump.

“Red Sox!” Oliver and Felicity both laugh at him as he draws the attention of the other attendees and earns a light smack on his arm from Ari. Within a few minutes the bus shows up and their tour guide steps off, explaining the logistics of the round trip to the famous home of the Boston Red Sox. When she's finished, they form a line to board the bus and Chester pops up out of seemingly nowhere at Felicity's elbow. She looks at him, eyes wide, about to ask where he'd come from, when he cuts her off.

“Heads up,” he mumbles, “David Gray incoming.” Felicity's eyes widen even more and Arianna spins around at the name, searching the crowd around them. Felicity has to force herself from looking around as well as she ignores Oliver's questioning eyes on her. Eventually, Arianna's eyes stop roving, land on someone Felicity can't see, and return to Felicity.

“Looks like he's coming on the tour,” she mumbles and Felicity groans.

“I don't know why I didn't consider this possibility when I agreed to come to the reunion,” she sighs, running a hand nervously over her ponytail.

“He's watching you,” Chester adds, unhelpfully.

“Stop staring at him,” Felicity snaps.

“Who's David Gray?” Oliver asks, looking around the others, surprised to even find normally unreadable Shane looking nervous at the turn the conversation had taken.

“I'll tell you later,” Felicity says, waving him off, “when he's not possibly in ear shot.” Arianna looks between Oliver and Felicity curiously.

“I can't believe you never told him about David,” she hisses.

“It never came up,” Felicity shrugs. Without conscious though, her hand reaches out for Oliver's, looking for comfort. He laces their fingers together without question and she considers for the first time that it might be a good thing that he understands wanting to keep some secrets to himself.

They board the bus and manage to get seats far away from David. Felicity keeps herself from seeking out the man by staring at her and Oliver's still joined hands and trying not to read too much into the touch. After all, she'd only seeked his hand out for comfort and he'd only taken hers to uphold their cover. The same reason as why he'd kissed her the day before. The anomaly that was that morning should be filed under “never again” and forgotten about.

She takes a deep breath and flexes her fingers, sliding them out of his. He looks at her curiously but doesn't say anything. They listen to Shane and Chester banter back and forth about the Red Sox vs. the New England Patriots – the NFL team – and Ari occasionally jump in with a sarcastic comment to stir the pot.

Arriving at the park, the tour begins with some general facts about the stadium. It was founded in 1912 and holds as the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball. Felicity is surprised to find Oliver more interested in the tour than she'd expected. He even begins to talk statistics with Shane during the tour guides lulls. Arianna nudges her with a grin.

“Heads up,” she laughs, “looks like you've got a budding fan on your hands.” Felicity laughs and shakes her head, nudging Arianna back as Oliver grins back at them. They somehow manage to avoid David for the whole tour and Felicity begins to consider that he may not be interested in talking to her either.

The tour lasts about two hours and they get back to campus for the last half hour of lunch with the graduating class of 2014. The five settle into a large round table on the second floor and Shane, Chester, and Oliver return to their conversation about Fenway and Major League Baseball. Arianna, who has removed the ball cap, scarfs her meal down and Felicity laughs.

“Didn't get breakfast this morning, I take it,” she comments. Arianna shakes her head no.

“Nope,” she says, after swallowing, popping the P, “Shane and I had better ideas for this morning.” She winks at Felicity who blushes thinking about her own wake up call. Suddenly, Chester jumps up from the table mid-conversation and begins searching the crowd, phone in hand.

“There she is,” he shouts suddenly, gaining the attention of the surrounding tables. Felicity turns and spots a tall, gorgeous brunette making her way towards their table with a wide smile.

“Chester, darling,” she drawls in a fake snooty voice as she reaches their table.

“Jen!” Ari squeals jumping up to hug the woman. Felicity stands as well, grinning at her old friend as she pulls Felicity into a hug after Arianna.

“Wow, Happy, look at you!” Jen laughs in her normal voice. “The West Coast agrees with you, I take it!”

“Me?” Felicity smiles. “What about you? I feel like an Oompa Loompa next to you in those heels.” She eyes Jen's bright red stilettos enviously. She hears Oliver clear his throat behind her and turns to find him standing as well.

“Oh, sorry!” She turns back to Jen. “Jen, this is my boyfriend Oliver. Oliver, Jen. Jen lived down the hall from Ari and I.”

“Damn, Happy,” Jen exclaims, looking Oliver up and down in an over-the-top manner, “you did  _ good _ !” Felicity blushes and shakes her head but Oliver laughs.

“Happy?” He asks as they all settle into their seats, Jen taking the time to give Shane a hug and Chester a kiss on the cheek.

“It's her name,” Jen explains, once she's settled on the other side of Chester. “Felicity means 'a great happiness'. So, we call her Happy.”

“ _ You _ ,” Felicity informs her dryly, “are the only one who calls me Happy, Jen.” Jen shrugs with a smug grin.

“I didn't know you two were still in touch,” Felicity continues, looking in the direction of Jen and Chester. Jen nods and Chester rolls his eyes good naturedly.

“Hey, Smoak, not all of us move to a different coast and completely drop contact, you know.” Felicity grimaces and drops her head.

“I guess that's fair,” she acknowledges, knowing she hadn't been doing her part to stay in touch in the last two years. Somewhere around the time she found a bleeding vigilante in her car she'd realized she couldn't exactly honestly tell her friends about her life anymore.

“Seriously,” Arianna jumps in, “what happened to you in the past year and a half that you didn't have time to e-mail or call?” Felicity gnaws on her lower lip and shrugs.

“I got really busy at QC,” she offers, “and then the takeover happened and it's just been really hectic.” She feels Oliver tense beside her and she think he may be about to break in and blame himself but he gets cut off.

“So, I've heard,” a deep voice says from behind Felicity and she scrunches her face in annoyance at Arianna before relaxing it into an unconcerned smile and turning toward the man behind her. He's only a few inches taller than her but in her seated position, he towers over her. In a black dress shirt and khakis, David Gray grins down at her. It actually infuriates her that the past five years have been so kind to him, his handsome face thin and clean shaven and his light hair immaculate.

“David,” she greets with a terse nod. He rounds the table and pulls out a chair across from her.

“Mind if I sit?” He asks no one in particular before dropping down in the seat without a response. He continues as if he'd been part of the original conversation with a lighthearted grin, “I bet you wish you'd stayed on the East Coast now, huh?” Arianna pulls a face and turns to him.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don't you watch the news?” He asks her, keeping his attention solely on Felicity. “Masked vigilantes running around shooting arrows into people, earthquake machines, armies of super soldiers. It's a wonder the earth hasn't just opened up and swallowed Starling City whole.” Felicity shrugs refusing to comment.

“Oh, yeah,” Chester jumps in, “I've heard about that Arrow guy! He seems like a badass.” Felicity fights to keep the smile off her face.

“He's a murderer,” David counters. Out of her peripheral, Felicity catches Oliver's hand tighten on his glass of water. Felicity rushes to jump into the conversation.

“He's helping the city! He's not killing anymore,” she hesitates, “he's found another way to do it.” Oliver's hand slips off of his glass and under the table. She feels it land on top of her own hand in her lap. David's eyes watch Oliver's hand disappear and she knows he didn't miss the movement.

“He's dangerous,” Oliver says as Felicity glances down at their hands, “but he's seems to think he's helping, at the very least.”

“He should be in a cell,” David argues, “not earning praise.” He eyes Felicity curiously and she tenses, knowing exactly where his mind is going.

“You seem to know an awful lot about his intentions..,” he trails off, letting his accusation dangle there. Felicity refuses to rise to the bait, raising an eyebrow curiously.

“Do you know who he is?!” Chester say suddenly, picking up on what David was trying to ask. Felicity does her best to look startled by the question, even as she feels Oliver squeeze her hand in reassurance.

“What?” She asks with a laugh as though the thought were ridiculous. “Of course not!” David continues to watch her calculatingly and she resists the urge to squirm under his gaze. After a moment, Oliver clears his throat.

“I don't believe we've met,” he tells David. “I'm Oliver Queen. Felicity's boyfriend.” The name sparks recognition in David's eyes but at the word 'boyfriend' his eyes flick to Felicity for a brief moment. This time she can't contain the squirm and shifts in her seat.

“David Gray,” he tells Oliver shortly before rising from the table. “Well, I should get back to my own table. I'll see you around, Felicity.” He offers the words casually but they ring like a threat in her ears. Oliver's hand slips out of hers and back to his water glass, bring it to his lips for a drink before looking at Felicity expectantly. She knew his respect for her secrets would only go so far and having said secret sitting across the table from him has brought him to the end of his leash. She sighs but refuses to budge.

“So, who exactly is that guy?” He finally asks the table at large. Jen gives a gasp that Felicity feels is a little over the top for the situation.

“Felicity hasn't told you about David?” Jen asks, looking bewildered and Felicity groans.

“Look, guys, it's not like I spent that past five years doing nothing but thinking about David, okay? It really just hasn't come up,” she insists. Jen shakes her head like this is unacceptable.

“David was Felicity's college boyfriend, like, basically the entire time,” Jen explains. “They broke up right before graduation. Felicity wanted to move back West and David wanted to stay here.”

“That's why they broke up?” Oliver asks and Felicity's hands clench in annoyance at the conversation being had like she's not sitting right there.

“Well,” Jen continues with a flourish, as if the story is far more interesting than Felicity feels it is, “he proposes, in front of everyone, a week before graduation. He expected her to be all Suzy Homemaker here in Massachusetts. You can imagine how well that went over with Felicity.” Oliver nods, reminded of the times when Felicity's gone after him for her Executive Assistant position.

“He just wanted her to throw away the years she'd put in here to be his doting little house wife,” Arianna continues for Jen. Felicity looks down at her plate and picks at her food, uninterested in the memory lane their trekking.

“What an asshole,” Oliver comments while Chester and Shane murmur their agreement despite having been present for the events. Chester had actually been there when David had proposed but the very public proposal and ensuing break up got around to Shane and the rest of the campus pretty quickly.

“Yeah, so,” Felicity cuts in, “can we talk about anything else please? Jen, what have you been doing lately?” Jen's face lights up as she jumps into a story about her job and Felicity's ex-boyfriend is quickly forgotten.

After lunch, Jen, Arianna, and Felicity are all set to attend a workshop on the advancement of women in the workplace while the men convince Oliver to join them at the sports bar down the street to catch as much of the Red Sox game as they can.

“So, you and Oliver Queen, huh?” Jen asks Felicity during a lull in the activities of the workshop. “That's surprising.”

“I can still barely believe it myself,” Felicity smiles ruefully.

“If you two get married you won't even need to work anymore,” Jen smirks, continuing quickly at the dark look Felicity sends her, “I mean, you  _ can _ , obviously, you just wouldn't  _ need  _ to.”

“We're not getting married,” Felicity insists. “And Oliver isn't rich anymore. All of his family's assets were tied up in Queen Consolidated, so when it went under so did they. All he has is the balance of his personal accounts.”

“That's got to be a good bit of cash though, right?” Arianna asks.

“Sure but he's finding out it doesn't last as well as he'd expected it to.” The other two women nod in understanding as the speaker for the workshop begins to explain the next activity.

When they meet up with the men at the bar, Jen settles in next to Chester and immediately gets into the game being played. Arianna sits down begrudgingly next to Shane but Oliver stands to greet Felicity.

“Hey,” he smiles, “you wanna get out of here?” She stares at him oddly but nods.

“We'll see you guys at dinner,” she tells her friends before Oliver slips his hand into hers and leads her out of the bar. They walk down the street, back toward campus.

“What do you want to do?” Felicity begins to ask but Oliver begins speaking at the same time.

“What did you mean earlier?” He asks suddenly, his eyes on some indeterminate spot in the distance. Her head whirls around as she stares at him.

“What? When?”

“When you were leaving the hotel room. You said something about going back to 'real life',” he explains, his eyes still not meeting hers. Felicity sighs, her shoulders sagging as she slips her hand out of his.

“This isn't real life, Oliver,” she mumbles, staring at the ground. “We're not really a couple and we should forget about whatever happened this morning when we get back home.” She looks up and finds him watching her. She can't bring herself to break the stare.

“You're right,” he says, his eyes intense and making Felicity squirm. Suddenly, he kisses her, pushing her back into an alley behind her.

Despite the alarm bells sounding off in her brain, her hands move into motion, wrapping around his lower back and pull him tight against her as he backs her into the brick wall on one side of the alley. His hands move into her hair, mussing her ponytail, and she lets out a breathy gasp against his lips. He nips lightly at her lower lip before moving his mouth down the column of her throat, sucking lightly at the nape of her neck.

Her hands fumble around to the front of his shirt, working at the top buttons of his dress shirt as his lips dip lower to the place where the top few buttons of her own blouse are already open. His hands flow easily from her hair, down her neck and arms, lower, lower, lower. He grips one of her thighs, pulling it around his waist as his mouth moves back up to hers. Her skirt bunches at her upper thighs and the hand on her leg moves inwards towards the apex of her thighs. His fingers dance lightly across the fabric of her panties and she gasps suddenly, pulling away from his mouth.

“Oliver, stop,” she pants and his hand stills immediately, his eyes meeting hers. “We're playing with fire here.” He looks appropriately shame faced for a moment before the intensity returns to his eyes, surprising and enthralling her.

“It's not real life, right? We could forget about this later,” he hesitates, “if you want to, I mean.” The fire in his eyes turn her on and she knows his hand, still resting very gently against her, can feel it. And suddenly the public alley fades away, her friends a few buildings down fade away, and reality fades away. All she can feel is Oliver's hand and his eyes on her. So, she kisses him and reaches down to guide his hand further.

She groans against his mouth as his fingers dip beneath her underwear and slide into her. He starts with one, easing in and out of her with his middle finger as he watches her face. When he slips the second finger in she squeaks in surprise and clenches around him, gasping in pleasure. She sighs his name as his fingers slide in and out and his thumb finds her clit. He beckons her with his fingers on just the right spot and covers her mouth with his own just in time to swallow her loud moan as she comes apart against his hand.

If Felicity thought that morning was awkward, it was nothing compared to the awkwardness that ensued after their near-exhibitionist leap over second and right into third base. And, yes, the irony of using a baseball euphemism about their sexual encounter a few buildings down from a sports bar is not lost on her.

They'd still had almost two hours left before they had to meet her friends for dinner and, after adjusting their clothes and taking a moment to stare uncomfortably at everything but each other, neither of them had any idea what to do with themselves. Felicity had suggested going back to the sports bar and catching the rest of the game but Oliver had shot that down in favor of avoiding questions from her friends.

Felicity shrugs noncommittally, “we could just go back to campus. Walk around until dinner.” Oliver nods silently and they start back towards campus.

“This is so awkward,” Felicity blurts unintentionally, immediately groaning in annoyance at herself. But it makes Oliver chuckle next to her and that kind of makes her feel better.

“Yeah,” he nods, “sorry I shouldn't have-”

“Please,” she scoffs, cutting him off, “like you forced me into that. I mean it, it was great obviously! It's just, you know, we should probably-”

“Not do it again?” Oliver asks with an embarrassed smile and Felicity nods. “Yeah, probably not.”

“I don't want things to be awkward between us, Oliver,” she says. “You're important to me.”

“You're important to me, too,” Oliver assures her. “And I don't want it to be weird either.” Felicity nods.

“Good. Then, we agree, no weirdness.” Oliver reaches over and squeezes her shoulder lightly and, even as her heart sinks, Felicity smiles at him. When they reach campus, they decide to just take a walk around until dinner. As they do, Oliver asks Felicity about her friends.

“So, Jen and Chester, they're not together?” Felicity laughs and shakes her head.

“No, they're just two of the most dramatic people I've ever met and they mesh well together,” she explains. “In college, they used to lie and tell people they were siblings just to see how they'd react.”

“Wouldn't people just assume one or both of them was adopted?” He asks and Felicity nods.

“Oh, sure! But when the people would say that they'd just look at them blankly and ask why they'd think that. People didn't know what to do after that. It could be kind of funny.” Oliver just shakes his head at the idea.

“What about Shane?” He asks. “He's kind of hard to read.”

“Yeah, he's more of the strong, silent type. You just have to open him up. Baseball can do it, as you've seen,” she smirks, thinking about the two of them at the stadium earlier in the day.

“I like your friends,” he tells her after a few minutes of silence, a sad smile on his face. “Chester reminds me of Tommy.” Felicity bites her lip and watches him for a moment.

“I'm sorry I never got to know him,” she admits quietly. “They way you talk about him, he seemed like a great guy.”

“He was,” Oliver nods and then grins, “and he would have  _ loved  _ you.” Felicity ducks her head and smiles.

“Why do you say that?”

“You don't let me pull shit,” Oliver shrugs with a chuckle. “Tommy used to love to see me put in my place.” Felicity laughs and shakes her head.

“He'd be proud of you, Oliver,” she says quietly and shrugs. “ _ I'm  _ proud of you.” Oliver stares at her for a moment before looking past her and nodding.

“Thanks for saying that.” Felicity sighs but doesn't try to convince him it's not something she's just saying. When the vigilante first showed up in Starling City, he'd terrified her. Now, he'd become a beacon of hope for the city. A guardian angel, as lame as that sounded even in her head.

Oliver checks his watch and jerks his head in the direction of the main road.

“We should probably try and get a cab and head to the hotel where the dinner's being held,” he suggests. Felicity nods and allows him to lead her back toward the busy road where they hail a taxi and head towards the Westin Copley Place Hotel.

At the hotel, there's a short reception for all the classes before they're split up by class year for separate dinners. Oliver and Felicity locate the others and they all find themselves a table.

“So, what did you two did after leaving the bar?” Chester asks them with a salacious wink. Felicity tries not to blush even as Oliver answers.

“Just went for a walk,” he shrugs and she's actually a little annoyed at how easily he lies, as if he hadn't made her come with his hands in an open alley against a brick wall. Her skin heats up at the thought and she occupies her attention on her food. The conversation continues on around her until Jen turns her attention on Felicity.

“So, how is your mom?” Jen asks, tucking into her pasta with gusto.

“She's fine,” Felicity sighs with a rueful grin. “Calls me every birthday and Hanukkah to remind me of my grandbaby bearing years and to marry rich.”

“But never to get rich on your own,” Arianna nods in understanding as Jen eyes Oliver next to Felicity.

“Seems like you're well on your way, though,” she comments and Felicity chokes on her potatoes, sending Jen a glare across the table. Jen just laughs as Oliver smirks.

“Okay, so, he didn't run for the hills at the mention of the mother or possible nuptials,” she teases. “He seems like a keeper!”

“Technically, I'm not rich anymore though,” Oliver jokes and Arianna and Jen nod.

“Yeah,” Arianna says, “Felicity mentioned that earlier. That all your assets were lost when your company was acquired.” Oliver nods in affirmation but doesn't question why they'd been talking about it.

“But you're working to get your company back, aren't you?” Shane asks, getting interested in the conversation.

“Yeah,” Oliver shrugs, “but it's not going to be easy.”

“He's hoping his stepfather will be able to help. He was CEO for a few years,” Felicity explains.

“I don't know how many jams he's willing to help me out of though.” Shane nods in understanding and they all return to their meals for a few minutes. Jen's just started telling a story about Chester embarrassing himself at a club somewhere when someone clears their throat behind Felicity. She turns to find David standing behind her chair, looking much less cocky than he had before.

“Hey, Liss,” he smiles sheepishly, using the old pet name he'd had for her. “Can we talk for a minute? In private?” Felicity looks around the table warily before nodding and standing to follow him out of the room and into the less crowded hallway.

“Listen,” he begins, once they're away from her friends and mostly alone, “I want to apologize for going all Spanish Inquisition on you earlier.” He scratches the back of his neck and waits for Felicity to say something.

When she doesn't, he continues, “it wasn't really how I wanted our first meeting after five years to go. But I saw you and your boyfriend and I guess I got a little jealous.” He shrugs and watches her for a reaction. Felicity sighs.

“It's fine,” she tells him honestly. “I don't really know how us seeing each other again was supposed to go. It's not like we got a whole lot of closure.”

“Exactly,” he nods in agreement. “So, I just wanted to apologize for coming off like an asshole. It was not my intention.”

“I appreciate it.” His conscious cleared, David leans easily against the wall behind him and studies her silently for a few seconds.

“So, you and Oliver Queen, huh?” He asks, prompting an eye roll from Felicity.

“Why do people keep saying it like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like he's one of the classier Kardashians and I'm a hobo?” He chuckles at the analogy and she glares at him. “ _ Yes _ , me and Oliver Queen.” It shouldn't irk her as much as it does. But it bothers her that apparently the rest of the world finds the two of them just as unthinkable as she does. How is that fair?

“I didn't mean it like that,” David insists, shaking his head. “It's just surprising. He's practically royalty on the West Coast.” Felicity shrugs and crosses her arms over her stomach.

“Sometimes things just happen,” she offers, “unlikely people find a home in each other.” His eyes drop to the floor at her assessment and she feels a little bad for insinuating she hadn't found a home with him. Their homes just hadn't been together.

“I should let you get back,” he says finally. “It's been nice seeing you, Liss.” Felicity nods and heads back to her table. She takes a seat and takes a bite of her potatoes, ignoring the looks she's receiving from the other occupants of the table.

“Are you going to tell us what that was about?” Chester finally asks.

“He just wanted to apologize for being a jerk to Oliver and I earlier,” Felicity shrugs. Arianna and Oliver both eye her suspiciously but everyone else seems to accept this answer and return to their previous conversation.

“So, how's it going?” John's voice comes through her phone as Felicity stands on the balcony off their hotel room later that night.

“Oh, fine,” she sighs, “the fake boyfriend met the ex-boyfriend. It was the appropriate amount of uncomfortable for all parties involved.”

After a beat she quietly adds, “Oliver is really good at this whole faking it thing.”

“He has years of practice,” John offers as an explanation and Felicity hopes he can't tell what she's really feeling. John's always been disturbingly good at reading her.

“Yeah,” she murmurs. “My friends like him, too. It'll be unfortunate when we break up.”

“Unfortunate for them or you?” John asks smugly and she can hear his grin across the phone line.

“You're laughing at me,” she grumbles as she hears him chuckle. “I'm can't believe you're laughing at me, Dig. Don't make me use my loud voice!” He has the good sense to stop chuckling.

“Sorry,” he says but she can still hear the amusement in his voice. “I'm sure it'll be fine Felicity. You're halfway through the weekend.” She hums noncommittally thinking about what she'd woken up to that morning.

“Listen, I know it's late there. I'll let you go. Call if you need anything.”

“Will do,” Felicity nods to herself. “Thanks, Dig.” As she ends the call, her phone alerts her to a text.

 

**From: Arianna Swenson**

_Do you have a swim suit?_

 

**To: Arianna Swenson**

_Not with me._

 

She types up her reply and steps back through the sliding glass doors into the hotel room. Oliver is standing next to the couch, replacing the blanket from the night before. Felicity watches him for a minute but doesn't fight him on it this time. Her phone beeps again.

 

**From: Arianna Swenson**

_I'll bring you one, then._

 

Felicity frowns and types up a quick reply;

 

**To: Arianna Swenson**

_What?_

 

After about twenty minutes of pretending to watch TV while Oliver sits on the couch and she doesn't hear back from Arianna, there's a knock at the hotel room door. Oliver looks toward it and frowns.

“Did you order something?” He asks and Felicity shakes her head, standing to answer the door. Oliver puts up a hand towards her and moves to the door instead, protective instincts kicking in. He checks the peep hole and she sees him visibly relax.

“Who is it?” She asks but, in lieu of answering, Oliver just tugs the door open. Arianna and Jen breeze past him into the room, offering quick greetings. Shane gives Oliver an embarrassed smile and takes his time entering the room, instead of making himself at home.

“What are you doing here?” Felicity asks, looking around her friends wildly. Arianna begins digging through her large tote bag as Jen answers.

“It's like college, right? So, we figured, Carson Beach!” She squeals in excitement trying to hype Felicity, who's still looking dumbstruck, up to the idea. Felicity surveys them and realizes they're both wearing jean shorts and tank tops, with the tell tale straps of their bikinis underneath. Arianna find what she's been digging for and tosses the forest green bikini at Felicity who fumbles but catches it.

“You realize it's almost eleven at night?” Felicity asks incredulously. The other two women ignore her and turn to Oliver, instead.

“We brought extra swim trucks for you, too,” Jen tells him excitedly as Arianna returns to searching through her bag.

“That's alright,” Oliver says quickly, “I don't really like to go in the ocean unless I have to.” Jen and Ari nod in understanding but Felicity just watches him, trying to discern if that's true or if he's just getting out of being forced by her friends.

“Well, you don't have to swim but you're still coming,” Arianna says with finality before turning to Felicity. “Chester is waiting in the parking lot downstairs so hurry up and dress and we'll go.” With that, she grabs Jen's had and leads her past Oliver and Shane and out of the hotel room.

“Sorry,” Shane smiles apologetically before following after them. Felicity sighs resignedly and turns to Oliver.

“Did you bring any jeans with you?” His eyebrows raise as he looks at her incredulously.

“We're going?”

“Well,  _ I  _ am,” she shrugs, “ _ you _ can do whatever you want.” She moves to her suitcase and flips it open, pulling a t-shirt and a pair of floral print shorts out of it. She'd packed them to wear home on the plane and hoped they wouldn't get too dirty and she'd end up having to wear a skirt. When she stands back up, Oliver is standing over his duffel bag. He turns when he feels her eyes on him.

“I'll go,” he tells her, “but I was serious about the ocean.” Felicity nods and heads for the bathroom to change.

Chester's car, while a nice sized SUV, was still not big enough for six people. Especially not six grown adults who should absolutely not have been sitting on each others laps. Regardless, thankfully, Arianna offered to sit on Shane's lap so Felicity and Oliver got separate, albeit very squished together, seats. Chester and Jen fought over the radio in the front seat for the entire ride to the beach. Felicity thinks Oliver might be getting his fill of her friends as he spends the ride in silence. But, then, she considers that he's not exactly talkative in the first place so who knows.

At the beach, loud music and a bonfire alert them to a party down the beach. Felicity considers that it's probably teenagers or actual college students and wonders what they'd think of a bunch of adults in their late twenties trying to recreate those years. They head down the beach in the opposite direction, each holding a beer while a small cooler dangles from Chester's fingers. The sounds of Arctic Monkeys fades into a quiet background noise and they stop to sit in the sand.

They sit in silence and, down the beach, Arctic Monkeys is replaced by the Neighborhood. Felicity listens and is trying to identify the song when Jen breaks the silence.

“We should play a game,” she says suddenly, turning to face the others.

“What game?” Chester asks, looking intrigued by the proposition. Jen shrugs, takes a swig of her beer, and considers it.

“I've Never?” She suggests finally and everyone else but Felicity and Oliver nod their assent.

“Exactly how far are we planning on pushing this whole 'pretending to be college kids' thing?” Felicity asks tiredly, absently drawing symbols in the condensation on her beer can.

“I've never,” Arianna starts loudly, with a malicious grin at Felicity, “had sex in the school library.” Felicity gives her a sharp glare and takes a drink from her can. Jen claps excitedly at Felicity's participation.

“ _ I've  _ never had an affair with a teacher,” Felicity counters and Jen and Chester both gasp as Arianna lifts her beer can grudgingly.

“To be fair,” she says, once she's swallowed, “he wasn't one of  _ my  _ teachers.”

“Which one?” Jen asks, looking a little perturbed to just be hearing about this.

“Professor Wilkes,” Shane answers for Arianna with a smirk.

“What?” Chester shouts. “That explains so much!” Felicity laughs and leans against Oliver without thinking.

“Fuck this game,” Arianna grumbles, taking a drink of her beer that has nothing to do with the game. Felicity smirks at her and Shane shakes his head, pulling Arianna tight against his side.

“My turn, my turn!” Jen claps again, laying back against the sand and staring up at the sky, trying to decide on something she'd never done. Felicity wonders if maybe that wasn't her first drink of the evening.

“I've never,” she starts slowly, “gone skydiving.” Felicity, Oliver, and Shane all lift their beers to their lips and Jen gasps.

“Be kind, rewind,” Chester exclaims, “Miss Felicity afraid-of-heights-and-flying-and-general-death Smoak has jumped out of an airplane?” Felicity shrugs.

“My friend John can be very persuasive,” she explains, evasively. “What about Shane? You've been skydiving?”

“That's not news,” Arianna shakes her head, looking maybe a little annoyed. “Everyone knows Shane's an adrenaline junky.” She frowns at her fiance who grins adorably at her.

“I'm not an adrenaline junkie, Ari,” he chuckles, “I just like extreme sports.”

“He has a Jet Ski,” Arianna informs Felicity. “We live in Philadelphia. What the hell does he need a Jet Ski for?” Felicity puts her hands up shaking her head.

“Don't put me in the middle of this, Ari. You wouldn't believe some of the things Oliver gets into.” It slips out without thought and she feels Oliver tense next to her.

“Oh, yeah? What are you into?” Shane asks and Oliver shrugs.

“Mostly just motorcycles,” he explains. “I've been in a couple accidents, though. Nothing too terrible, Felicity's just not over it.” He shoots her a playful glance that she knows is actually a warning and she grimaces in apology.

“I'm a nervous Nelly,” she murmurs with a shrug, lifting her beer to her mouth again.

“Well, I'm bored again,” Jen says suddenly, sitting back up and shaking the sand out of her long brown hair. Felicity catches Oliver looking at Jen in amusement and smiles. Maybe he isn't quite tired of her friends yet. Jen jumps up, catching Felicity's hands and pulling her up as well.

“Let's go swimming,” she commands, “you're wearing one of my bathing suits so you clearly have to. Otherwise I brought it for no reason.” Felicity sighs but nods as Jen starts pulling her own tank top over her head. Felicity follows suit, trying not to wonder if Oliver's eyes are on her or not.

“Don't go too far out, guys,” Shane says, “it's pretty dark.” Felicity straightens after removing her shorts and feels a hand on her bare stomach, she turns her head to find Oliver standing behind her.

“Be careful,” he murmurs, catching her eye, and she nods before Jen tugs her away and down toward the waves.

Felicity and Jen can only handle the chilly water for about five minutes and are quickly racing back towards their friends. Jen practically jumps into Chester's arms who gives a shout of indignation. Jen clings to him regardless and gives an exaggerated shiver.

“Cold,” she gives as an explanation and Chester shakes his head but wraps his arms around her. Felicity stands to the side, shivering as well.

“Tell me we brought towels.” Jen looks around to Arianna, curled up against Shane, at Felicity's words.

“Ari, where's your bag?”

“I must have left it in the car,” Arianna sighs, moving to stand up but Oliver beats her to it, jumping to his feet.

“That's okay,” he says, “Felicity and I will go get it.” Chester tosses him the truck keys and Oliver, taking notice of the way Felicity's shivering, pulls her tightly against him as they head towards the parking lot.

“I'm gonna get your shirt wet,” she says quietly, looking at his dark gray Henley quickly turning black with water marks. He shrugs as if it's inconsequential and tightens his arm around her. The music from the party gets louder as they near the car and Felicity can pick out the sound of The 1975's “Chocolate” playing from a sound system.

“You're really warm,” Felicity says, a few feet from the truck, snuggling her face against Oliver's chest. She feels his chuckle reverberate through her and it makes her smile. He uses the key fob to unlock the truck and leaves her to search for Arianna's bag. Pulling out a towel, he wraps it around her shoulder and she clutches it tightly around her.

“You're wearing my color,” he tells her in a gruff voice, tugging playfully at string fastening the fabric around her neck. She rolls her eyes and smiles at him.

“I didn't exactly pick it out. Don't go getting all egotistical on me.” He laughs and leans down to press his lips against hers. She knows there's no one to see them so she can't blame this kiss on their cover. She wonders vaguely if Oliver's gotten so good at lying that he's managed to fool himself. It doesn't stop her from cupping his jaw in one of her hands and kissing him back, though.

And suddenly he's got her pressed up against Chester's truck and she's not cold anymore. She's burning up from the inside out as his tongue slips past her lips and he presses one of his thighs between hers. His hands are running through her wet curls and playing with the strap of her bikini top making alarm bells sound in her head and causing her to push away from him.

“Oliver,” she pants as she pushes him back by his shoulders. He looks appropriately contrite and ducks his head.

“I'm sorry,” he breathes and she realizes his breathing is shallow as well and she's suddenly scared of whatever is going on between them, the pull both of them seem to be having trouble resisting.

“It's okay,” she breathes as he steps away from her and the cool air rushes in around her again. She pulls the towel tighter around her and Oliver runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head lightly.

“No, it's not,” he says quietly before reaching back into the truck and grabbing Arianna's bag. He shuts the door and locks it before motioning back down the beach without looking at her.

“We should head back,” he suggests and she nods in agreement, pushing herself off of Chester's SUV and following Oliver back towards her friends.

By the time they get dropped back off at their hotel, Felicity's had a few more beers than she maybe should have and her already defunct filter has decided to completely take the night off. She begins untying the bikini as soon as Oliver gets the hotel room door open and actually laughs when Oliver all but runs to the bathroom to change himself.

When he comes out, she's sitting in her pajamas pouting in the direction of the couch. He eyes her warily as he skirts the bed and crosses to the couch.

“What's wrong?” He asks, sitting down carefully on the couch.

“I want you to keep me warm again,” she admits with a frown. Oliver considers how young she looks when she's drunk and chuckles at her.

“That's probably not a good idea,” he tells her quietly. She sighs dramatically and flops back on to the bed.

“Yeah,” she nods, “but the two of us do a lot of stupid stuff anyway.” She sits up on her elbows and grins wickedly at him. He doesn't budge and she changes her face into a pout. He laughs and stands up, snatching the pillow and blanket.

“Fine,” he gives in with a put upon sigh and thinks maybe he'd had a beer or two too many as well, “but separate blankets.” Felicity nods enthusiastically and slides under the covers. Oliver lays next to her, pulling the extra blanket over himself, and she doesn't hesitate to snuggle up against him. He sucks in a breath as she nuzzles her face against his chest and turns the light off.

“Hey, Oliver,” she stage whispers after a few minutes.

“Hm?”

“I don't know what's going on between us,” she admits, “but I think I kind of like it.” She doesn't wait for him to respond before her breathing evens out and she slips into unconsciousness. He listens to her breathing for a minute.

“Yeah,” he says quietly into the dark, “I think I do to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As an extra little factoid; David Gray is actually a singer who covered "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" which I used in a mix recently and didn't realize until I'd finished the story that that is where my subconscious got the name from. Oops!


	3. Part Three

When Felicity wakes up, she's pretty sure Oliver is trying to kill her. It's a little after seven when he starts nudging her and she bats him away.

“Leave me alone,” she commands but it's muffled as she buries her face in her pillow in an attempt to block out the sunlight covering the room. She pulls the warm duvet over her head and attempts to block him out as well. It doesn't stop him from nudging her shoulder lightly again.

“Felicity, come on. I let you sleep in while I showered but you have to get up.” Felicity groans and pulls the duvet tighter around her, ignoring the frustrated sigh from Oliver. “If you want to eat breakfast, you have to get up.” Damn him. How dare he bring food into this? She heaves a great sigh and tosses the comforter off of her, glaring at him.

“You know food is my weakness,” she grumbles and he grins and points toward the bathroom.

“I left a glass of water and some aspirin in there.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she rants as she heads toward the bathroom. “Stop being so fucking considerate, would you?” He laughs as she slams the bathroom door shut. She downs the water and aspirin and scrubs the sand and salt water from her hair in the shower, groaning when the water starts to cool and finally getting out. She pulls on a robe and heads back into the bedroom.

“Goddamn hotel,” she grumbles, crossing to her suitcase. “How can you run out of hot water? Fucking unbelievable.” Oliver chuckles across the room and she turns to shoot daggers in his direction, recoiling when it means turning towards the sun pouring through the windows.

“What are you laughing at, mister?” She asks, rubbing the heels of her palms over her assaulted eyes, trying to alleviate the pain.

“I just can't believe what a potty mouth you have when you're hungover.” She can't see him but she can hear the smirk in his voice. “You're usually so perky.”

“Go fuck yourself,” she tells him, gathering up her clothes and heading back to the bathroom to change. She has a feeling she'll be sweltering in the printed sweater and black slacks she'd packed but can't find it in herself to give a damn. She scrubs the stale taste of beer and salt water from her mouth and doesn't bother straightening her hair, letting it dry into it's natural waves.

“Oh no,” she groans, staring down at her suitcase.

“Hm?” Oliver asks from across the room.

“I didn't pack any sunglasses,” she explains, dropping back to lie on the bed. “I wasn't exactly planning on battling a hangover.” She hears him cover his amusement with a cough and bites down on her tongue to stop from snapping at him. Her eyes are closed when she feels him standing over her and she opens them to find him holding out a pair of black wayfarers that probably cost more than she makes in a week. If she weren't so desperate, she'd refuse the gesture afraid of breaking or losing them. Instead, she takes them from him and gives a lame smile.

“Thanks.” She slips them on her eyes and grabs her purse. “You ready?” He nods and they head for the door. They decide to just head to campus to check in and have breakfast there and the tables are mostly empty when they sit down. Felicity doesn't remover her sunglasses and Oliver gets them both eggs, insisting they're good for hangovers. Felicity tries to make a joke about how he'd know all about hangovers but it comes out more angry than she intends and she ends up apologizing.

They eat in silence until Chester shows up and drops down next to Felicity.

“You look like shit,” he informs her, snatching a piece of bacon off her plate.

“Gee, thanks, Cheesey,” she bites back. “I don't feel so hot.”

“At least your hair looks nice,” he offers with a shrug, munching on the strip of bacon, “it always looked nice when you left it wavy like that.” Felicity just shrugs and pushes the eggs around her plate.

“I've never even seen it like this,” Oliver admits, happily eating his own breakfast and making Felicity want to throw hers at him.

“Well, I'm sure you've seen it like this after showers or something, right?” Chester asks with a raised eyebrow and Oliver rushes to cover.

“Oh, well, sure,” he nods a little too vigorously, “I've just never seen her wear it out in public like this.” Felicity runs a hand through her hair subconsciously, pushing it up and away from her face.

“Are you ladies finished?” She snaps, giving up on her food and dropping her fork on the plate, focusing on the glass of water Oliver had gotten her instead, sipping slowly. To her surprise, David drops down in the seat across from her.

“Rough night, Liss?” He asks with a grin.

“No, I got a full, uninterrupted eight hours,” she answers snidely, “can't you tell?” He laughs at her response and nods.

“Yeah, you're all sunshine and daisies!” She rolls her eyes, the effect lost by the fact that no one can see her eyes through the dark sunglasses. “You never could hold your alcohol.” She grunts in response, whether in assent or annoyance even she isn't sure.

“Alright, well, I just came over to ask if you guys are doing the Beer Game?”

“The Beer Game?” Oliver asks, looking between her and David. “Tell me that isn't some weird frat game.” Felicity stifles a yawn and shakes her head.

“It's a simulated beer distribution game.” He looks even more confused but she doesn't stop to elaborate before returning her attention to David, “I'd say I was gonna skip it if I didn't think Ari would kick my ass for so much as suggesting it.” David nods and stands, pushing his chair into the table.

“Well, I'll see you guys there then,” he says before walking away. Felicity pushes her plate away from her and buries her head in her arms on the table. Chester watches David walk away.

“I don't get that dude,” he says. “Was he always that hot and cold?”

“I don't know,” Felicity shrugs, picking her head up and resting her chin on the backs of her hands. “I think it's being back here, you know? Everyone's reverting to who they were five years ago. Like Jen and Ari last night. They're acting like they have senioritis all over again.” Chester seems to contemplate this for a few seconds before accepting her theory and nodding.

“Oh, hey, those two guy were in my frat,” he says, his eyes on the other side of the room but Felicity has no motivation to turn and see who he's talking about as he stands up. “I'll see you guys later.”

“I think you're right,” Oliver says when he's gone. “You've been different since we started spending time with your friends.” Felicity raises an eyebrow at him, lifting the sunglasses up to rest in her hair, glad she picked a spot facing away from the large, panoramic windows.

“Bad different?” She asks quietly.

“No,” he shakes his head, “not good or bad. Just.. more comfortable.” He's quiet for a moment as they both think about what he's said.

“I wish you could be that way with me,” he admits finally, the words coming out quietly as he stares down at his glass of orange juice. Felicity considers this. She's not necessarily _uncomfortable_ around Oliver. But he does have some sort of affect on her. She babbles and stumbles over her words and says things she'd rather keep to herself. She knows it only because she's had a tiny crush on him since he walked into her office at QC two years ago. It doesn't help that close quarters and half-nakedness had only served to make that crush grow.

She considers, for a second, admitting this to him.

Instead, she shrugs and tells him, “I'm comfortable around you in a different way.” She slides the sunglasses back down over her eyes and he doesn't respond.

They meet up with Arianna, Shane, and Jen before heading to the room where the Beer Game is being played. Chester teams up with the men he'd run into at breakfast so they each become a company, Felicity having Oliver work with her as one company since he'd never played before. The game goes for about three hours and, while their group does well, they don't win. Not deterred by the loss, Jen heads to another seminar and the other four decide to head off campus for lunch. They find a somewhat nice restaurant a few minutes away.

Felicity puts Oliver's sunglasses away for the first time since the hotel and orders real food and a sparkling water, feeling better than when she'd woken up.

“So, what do you guys have for the rest of the day?” Shane asks after their food has arrived. Felicity swallows her bite of chicken parmesan before answering.

“Nothing until all that stuff with the Dean tonight,” she shrugs, cutting herself another bite.

“What are you guys planning on doing today then?” Arianna asks.

“I found this place online that gives guided tours of the city,” Felicity explains, “I figured we could check that out.” Oliver starts at this, staring at her.

“Felicity, I haven't been on a bicycle in probably more than ten years.”

“Well, you know the old cliché,” she offers with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“That's a cliché,” he argues.

“It's a cliché for a reason, Oliver,” she counters, getting a little annoyed when he looks ready to continue fighting. “Can you please just consider this, for me?” He sighs and nods.

“Yeah, alright.” Arianna and Shane are both staring at them and Felicity remembers their in public, blushing a little at their bickering.

“You two are adorable,” Arianna comments. “Weird but adorable.”

After lunch, Oliver and Felicity head back to the hotel to change their clothes. Felicity moves wearily around the room, her lack of a good night's sleep weighing on her, and she can feel Oliver's eyes on her as she does.

“Why don't you sleep for like an hour?” He suggests. “The presentation isn't until 5:30.”

“Is this just you trying to get out of a bike tour?” She asks with a smirk.

“Of course not,” he chuckles. “I can wake you up in an hour and we'll have plenty of time to talk about the bike tour.” Felicity considers it for a few seconds before finally nodding.

“Yeah, alright,” she nods, pulling her pajamas back out of her suitcase to nap in. Oliver pulls a pair of sweatpants out of his duffel bag as well.

“I'm gonna go down to the hotel gym,” he explains. “I'll come back, take a shower, and wake you up.” Felicity nods, sitting down on the bed.

“Just an hour, though, okay?” He nods and leaves the room. She changes and is asleep before she hits the pillow. A little over an hour later, she's once again being nudged awake by a freshly showered Oliver. This time, she's much more receptive, rolling over and smiling lightly at him.

“G'morning.”

“Good _afternoon_ ,” he chuckles. “It's almost three.” Felicity nods and pulls herself into a sitting position. She runs a hand through her hair and tries to get her bearings.

“How about we skip the bike tour and just walk around the surrounding stores and stuff?” She suggests and Oliver nods.

“Sure,” he agrees. “Walter called me earlier so I'm gonna call him back and let you get dressed.” He heads into the hallway and Felicity pulls her tank top and floral shorts out of her bag again. She hadn't put them back on over her bathing suit and hadn't worn them for long in the first place so they were clean enough for a walk. She starts to pull her hair back into a ponytail but gives up and lets the curls hang loose. Oliver knocks before he comes back into the room and she smiles at the gesture.

“You dressed?” He calls, cracking the door open so she can hear him.

“Yeah,” she nods even though he can't see her and he comes into the room.

“What'd Walter say?” She asks.

“Not a whole lot,” he shrugs. “He wants to meet to talk when we get back to Starling City.” Felicity nods and fishes Oliver's sunglasses back out of her bag, sliding them on along with the flip flops she'd packed to wear in the shower.

“Ready?” Oliver nods and they head out of the hotel again.

Their hotel sits in a hotspot of activity, surrounded by store fronts and restaurants, rather than just rested next to a highway or airport. Felicity had picked it specifically, knowing they'd have some free time and not counting on most of it being taken up by her friends. Not that she was complaining, her friends had definitely made the trip worth it and, assuming the stuff with Oliver didn't break her, she might just have to thank him for forcing her to go.

They walk side by side, not touching, down the sidewalk. Occasionally, Felicity will spot a store she wants to go into and pull Oliver along with her. At one small clothing boutique tucked between a pizza place and a Starbucks, she pulls a long, cotton scarf off of a rack and drapes it around his neck, looping it once. She steps back to inspect it and immediately starts laughing. He wrinkles his nose at her.

“What?” He asks, looking a little bit offended and she shakes her head, trying to staunch her giggles.

“You're definitely not a scarf guy,” she teases, with a smirk and he pouts and pulls the scarf from around his neck. He tosses it resentfully back on the hook and Felicity mock pouts at him.

“Aw,” she coos. “Don't pout. There was bound to be something out there that wouldn't actually somehow make you _more_ attractive.” She turns to inspect the earrings and yelps in surprise a few moments later when something comes around her neck. She grabs at it to find a thin gold chain with a small, carved and polished rock. Turning her head, she finds Oliver behind her, tongue between his teeth as he fastens the clasp at the back of her neck. She smooths her finger over the stone and turns to him, realizing it's in the shape of an arrowhead.

“You've got quite the ego on you, mister,” she teases with a fond smile, still fingering the charm. He grins back.

“I just thought it'd look nice,” he says softly, raising his hands defensively, “honest.” Felicity nods and tries to turn the chain and find a price tag.

“How much is it?” Oliver reaches out and stills her hands.

“Don't worry about it.”

“Oliver,” she warns, meeting his eyes.

“Felicity, it's not that much. Just let me do this for you.” Felicity sighs and rolls her eyes but nods.

“Men,” she says, slipping her hands out from under his and throwing them up in the air. He chuckles and puts his hand on her shoulders, angling her toward the register to pay for the necklace. As they're leaving, when they reach the door a loud clap of thunder makes Felicity jump, accidentally tugging harshly at the necklace around her neck.

“Uh-oh,” she murmurs, looking up at the sky through the glass of the door. Oliver places his hand on her lower back.

“We could stay here, see if the storm breaks,” he suggests, “or we could make a break for the hotel.” Felicity shrugs, debating the options.

“It hasn't even broke yet,” she shrugs. “If we try to wait it out we could be stuck here a while. Let's just head for the hotel and hope we beat the rain.” Oliver nods and removes his hand from her back to pull his light jacket off and hand it to her.

“Here,” he offers, eying the thin straps of her tank top, “just in case.” Felicity doesn't debate it, wanting to be as dry as possible if they can't beat the rain and pulls it on quickly. They rush out the door and begin to hurry down the sidewalk in the direction of their hotel. They manage about halfway before the large gray cloud above them breaks and the downpour starts. Felicity squeaks in surprise as she tries to tug Oliver's jacket over her hair. Oliver grabs her hand and they take off in a sprint to reach the door to the hotel.

By the time they make it back up to their room, they're panting and soaked to the bone.

“So much for your jacket keeping me dry,” Felicity sighs as Oliver slides the key card into the lock. He shakes his head in amusement as she enters the room before him. She turns back to face him with a smile.

“And so much for beating the storm,” she chuckles as another clap of thunder shakes the windows and a bolt of lightning flashes, filling the semi-dark room, the sun hidden behind the large storm clouds. She barely questions it this time when Oliver bends and presses his mouth to hers. It happens with much the same intensity as all of their other encounters as he peels his wet coat off of her shoulders and she helps him out of his soaked Henley.

She's pressed in between him and the wall, running her hand over the scar on his shoulder, and his hands are sliding up her tank top, separating cold fabric from her skin with warm hands, when she pulls away.

“Oliver,” she breathes shakily, “what are we doing?”

“I don't know,” he whispers back, voice ragged. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” she responds vehemently, pulling his lip back down toward her own. He kisses her once, firmly, before trailing his lips down her neck, sliding his hands further up her torso until he can pull her tank top off. He separates his lips from her skin and tugs it over her head carefully. His head moves lower, lips dropping to the curve of her breasts revealed underneath her bra. Her hand travels up into the short hair at the back of his head. She gasps and tugs at it lightly when his tongue darts out to lick across the top of her breast.

“Oliver,” she pants, “bed.” He obliges silently, lifting her up to wrap her legs around his waist and moving backwards toward the bed, dropping down when the backs of his knees hit the mattress. She pushes him backward until he's lying back against the duvet and begins her own exploration of his torso. He groans and squirms underneath her as she kisses his neck and fans her hands out over his stomach. He cuts her ministrations short, flipping them over and covering her mouth with his own again, his hands coming up to palm her breasts over her bra. She fumbles suddenly, pushing him up to reach behind her and unhook the garment, tossing it across the room with more force than she'd intended.

“Oops,” she murmurs, as it hits the sliding glass door with the rain still beating against it outside. Oliver laughs and leans down, brushing her wet hair out of her face before lowering his mouth to her breasts. He continues to move his mouth lower, kissing her navel and deftly unbuttoning her shorts. He hesitates at the zipper and looks up at her watching him. She covers his hands with her own and helps him remove her shorts.

“It's okay,” she whispers, nodding at him in assurance, and pulls the shorts down her legs, tossing them behind him. His hands trail up the insides of her thighs, tracing the line of her panties. She squirms underneath him, breathing heavily, trying to encourage his hands to the spots she needs them at. His fingers are dancing across the line of the elastic when she sits up suddenly. He looks up at her, eyes wide.

“What's wrong?”

“Do you have a condom?”

“Yeah,” he chuckles, “there should be one in my wallet.” As he says it, he removes his hands from her lower stomach to pull a leather wallet from his back pocket. He opens it, pulling out the tin foil packet and tossing both it and the wallet on the bedside table.

“Whew,” Felicity breaths, dropping back against the bed. “Good.” He laughs and moves his hands back down to her underwear, easing them down her thighs. He kisses slowly back up her legs, nearing her center. He licks a hot stripe upwards, across her skin, stopping to swirl his tongue around her clit. She gasps and he holds her hips down when she bucks a little against his mouth. He sucks the little bundle of nerves into her mouth and she lets out a harsh breath.

“Oh, my God, Oliver,” she moans, tugging at his hair and pulling him away from her. He looks at her questioningly.

“Take off your pants,” she commands, sitting up and reaching down to where he's kneeling on the floor to fumble with the buckle of his belt. He bats her hands away and gets it unbuckled faster than she knows she would have and pushes his pants and boxers off in one movement. She bites down on her lip and studies him for a moment.

“Fuck,” she breathes, “no wonder you've got such a massive ego.” He chuckles and she tugs him by his hands back onto the bed, rolling him onto his back to straddle him. She leans down to kiss him again before reaching for the condom on the nightstand. He stops her as she rips open the packet.

“Felicity,” he says, getting her to meet his eye. “We can stop.” She looks at him like he's crazy.

“Does it look like I want to stop?” She asks, pulling the condom out and moving down on his thighs to roll it over his hard length.

His breathing grows a little more ragged but he presses on, “I just don't want-”

“Oliver,” she cuts him off, settling back on her heels and staring at him. “Can we just not over think this right now? Please?” She bites her lip and he nods, reaching for her hips.

“I mean, you want this too, right?” She asks quietly, her self-consciousness taking over. “Because, if you don't we can-” He nods quickly, cutting her off.

“Yes, Felicity,” he insists, “of course I do.” She nods and positions herself over him.

“Then stop talking,” she smirks and gasps as slides down onto him. He groans and they still for a moment, adjusting to the feelings, before he flips her over and takes control, moving in and out of her slowly. Her fingers explore the ridges and valleys of the scars that riddle his back as his hand moves down to where their bodies meet, urging her closer to climax. Her hands slip down to his ass and pull him harder into her, moaning out words of encouragement as she feels herself nearing the edge. He leans down to suck at a spot on her neck as he applies pressure to her clit and light explodes behind her eyes as she bucks against him, his mouth covering hers as she moans his name. He followers her over the edge and buries his face in her neck, trying to keep too much of his weight off of her. Felicity closes her eyes and wraps her arms around his back.

A little while later, she lays curled against his side with her head on his chest as her fingers move softly over a scar she remembers bandaging back in December. His fingers run gently through her damp hair, easing the knots from the blonde strands. She sits up, resting her chin against his chest and he meets her eyes curiously.

“What do we do now?” She asks quietly, afraid of the answer she might get. Oliver reaches forward with his free hand and fiddles with the small stone dangling between them from the gold chain. He smooths the pendant between his thumb and forefinger before meeting her eyes again.

“I don't know,” he admits and Felicity nods silently, relaxing back against the pillows. He rolls onto his side to face her and kisses her shoulder as she stares at the ceiling.

“We'll figure it out,” he promises, murmuring the words against her skin.

They shower separately and Felicity takes time styling her hair and applying her makeup to gain some distance from Oliver. She isn't necessarily regretting the sex. She's just fearing how many bridges they may have inadvertently burned by giving into that fire between them. She knows better than to expect things to not change once they head back home and reality sinks back in. When there are no more fake relationships, no more hotel rooms, no more soft kisses as if it's normal. She stares at the necklace he'd bought her laying on the bathroom counter.

“We should probably get going,” Oliver calls through the door, shaking Felicity out of her thoughts. She shakes her head and snatches up the necklace, clasping it at the back of her neck, before opening the door and reentering the bedroom. Oliver is sitting on the edge of the bed, looking every bit as unsettled as Felicity feels.

“Hey,” he smiles softly.

“Hi,” she responds quietly, biting down on her lower lip. She moves toward where her heels are sitting under the bench her suitcase is on top of. She slips her feet into them and turns back around to find Oliver behind her. She startles and places her hand against her heart.

“Jesus,” she swears, “I'm gonna get you a bell.” He smirks at her and she feels his hand slide into hers, entwining their fingers.

“Are you okay?” He asks earnestly and she feels her discomfort melting away as she nods at him.

“I'm fine,” she assures him, squeezing his hand.

“Good,” he nods once and she can't remember the last time she saw him this unsure of himself and it didn't involve a life or death situation. She laughs at the thought and turns back to her suitcase, zipping it up.

“I have to do laundry tonight,” she tells him, “or I'll have nothing to wear on the plane but a skirt and heels.” He nods and grabs his suit jacket from the bed as she pulls on her light pink cardigan. After the storm, the temperature had dropped considerably and Felicity was glad her outfit for the night included pants she'd worn that morning to breakfast.

“Fair warning,” she begins, as Oliver opens the hotel room door for her and they start down the hall to the elevators, “this presentation is going to be boring as shit, I'm sure.” Oliver groans good naturedly behind her and Felicity laughs, pressing the button to call the elevator.

“You wanted me to come to this thing, buddy,” she teases and Oliver shrugs.

“Well, it hasn't been all bad,” he comments, leaning down to kiss her softly.

“Yeah, I guess not,” she murmurs as the elevator dings and the doors slide open.

At the Dean's presentation, they sit with Arianna and Shane. Arianna watches Felicity curiously and she tries to ignore it but after a while she snaps.

“What?” She hisses, looking over at Ari in the folding chair next to her.

“Are you alright?” Arianna asks with a shrug. “You, look, I don't know. Not alright.” Felicity averts her eyes, pretends to pay attention to what the man standing in front is saying and shrugs.

“I'm fine,” she insists. “I just had a tiring day.”

“Did you and Oliver do that bike tour you were talking about?” Felicity had completely forgotten even mentioning the tour. Had it really only been a few hours since they'd sat at lunch with her friends and bickered over a bike ride? How many shifts had their relationship gone through in the past twenty-four hours? This whole weekend had felt like another universe.

“Oh, uh, no. We just ended up doing some shopping by our hotel,” Felicity explains, absentmindedly fingering her necklace and glancing around to make sure their hushed tones weren't bothering anyone. No one seemed to be paying them any attention so she turned back to Ari.

“Did you buy that today?” She asks, indicating the small arrowhead necklace.

“Oh, yeah. Oliver bought it for me,” she whispers, dropping her hand from the item in question. Arianna nods and returns her attention to the front, allowing Felicity to slip back into her thoughts. Oliver's hand lands lightly on her knee and Felicity stares at it, her earlier discomfort at their situation creeping back.

After the presentation, instead of dinner the university serves a meal of heavy Hors d'Oeuvres. Essentially, it means all they served were a bunch of finger foods like cheese boards and kabobs. Felicity takes a small plate and fills it with cheese and fruit and orders a glass of red wine at the bar. She munches on the cheese non-stop as her friends converse around her. She looks up when she feels Arianna staring at her again.

“Okay,” she snaps, throwing up her hand that isn't holding her own white wine, “what is going on with you?” Felicity gives her a confused look and shrugs her shoulders, popping a grape in her mouth. Arianna rolls her eyes.

“I lived with you for all eight of our finals weeks, okay? I know what your stress eating looks like.” Felicity drops the cheese cube she had been moving towards her mouth back to her plate and ops for a drink of her wine instead.

“I really don't know what you're talking about, Ari,” Felicity insists, setting her plate down on a nearby table. Arianna huffs but turns away from Felicity, returning to her conversation with Jen. Oliver continues to eye her curiously and Felicity excuses herself to the bathroom. On the way back, she feels a hand on her arm and whirls around expecting Oliver.

“Oh,” she says in surprise, as David drops his hand from her arm, “hey!” She manages a semi-genuine smile and he returns it.

“Hey, sorry,” he says sheepishly. “I didn't mean to startle you.”

“No,” Felicity shakes her head, “it's fine, really. It's just been a.. weird day.” David's eyebrows raise at this and he studies her for a minute.

“You want to tell me about it?” He asks finally and she shakes her head, looking down at her shoes.

“Nah, it's just some stuff with Oliver,” she shrugs. “It's not a big deal.” Of course that's a blatant lie. But she's not exactly going to discuss her hot, amazing sex with her fake-boyfriend whose feelings she can't even begin to decipher with her college boyfriend. She doesn't even want to begin to imagine how that conversation would go.

David seems to accept this answer, though, and nods. He shoves his hands in his pocket and scuff the toe of his shoe against the floor.

“Are you guys going to be at the barbecue tomorrow?” He asks, looking back up at her.

“Yeah,” she nods, “our flight doesn't leave until five, I think.”

“Great,” David smiles. “You can meet my son.” Felicity blanches at this.

“Son?” She asks. “Are you married?”

“Oh, uh, no. His mom.., she wasn't so reliable.” Felicity nods, thinking about the dad she didn't know and the mother who barely knows her. Yeah, she could relate to the kid at least.

“I'd love to meet him,” she smiles, earning a matching one from David. Just then, she hears her name from the door where the reception is going on. They both turn to find Oliver standing just outside the door watching them.

“I just wanted to check on you,” he says, moving towards them. He reaches Felicity and places his hand on her lower back. She fights back a shiver at the warmth of his hand through her clothes and smiles at David again.

“I think we're gonna say our goodbyes and call it a night,” she tells him. “I'll see you tomorrow. I can't wait to meet..,”

“Jackson,” David supplies for her when she trails off and nods. “I'll see you tomorrow, then.” He heads back into the crowded room and she can feel Oliver's eyes on her. She expects him to ask her if she's okay again.

“Let's say goodnight,” he says instead, guiding her back into the room and towards her friends.

Back at the hotel, Felicity sits on the bed with her tablet and a rerun of _30 Rock_ playing quietly in the background as Oliver changes for bed in the bathroom. He comes out and hesitates, watching her cautiously.

“What?” She asks in confusion, powering off her tablet and plugging it in.

“Where do you want me to sleep?” He asks and she raises an eyebrow at him.

“Considering what we were doing in this bed earlier, I think it's okay for us to sleep in it together,” she tells him with a roll of her eyes. He stands rigid and doesn't move any closer.

“What's going on, Oliver?”

“I know you're not actually okay,” he tells her. “I'm an idiot for not realizing it right away, it took until Ari mentioned it and now I don't know how I missed it.” Felicity sighs and crosses her arms in front of her.

“Oliver,” she says wearily but he presses on.

“I'm sorry about earlier. It was stupid and shouldn't have happened.” She gapes at him.

“What? Is that what you really think?” She asks, trying not to sound too broken and failing as her voice breaks.

“Isn't it how you're feeling?” She shakes her head quickly and he moves toward the bed, kneeling in front of her. “I don't know what's going on Felicity. I just know that I upset you and I hate it.” Felicity runs her hand over her ponytail nervously.

“Look,” she begins, finally, “in the time we've known each other, I've unintentionally made it _painfully_ clear that I have feelings for you. But I have no idea how you feel about me and I'm no closer right now to figuring it out than I was before we left Starling City three days ago.” By the end, she can't bring herself to look at him and instead picks at a loose thread between them on the duvet.

“You have to know how much I care about you, Felicity,” he insists and, when she just shrugs, he falls silent. “I guess I haven't exactly been forthcoming about my feelings,” he admits quietly. He reaches forward and stills her hand, covering it with his own.

“You're one of the few people I trust,” he tells her, “and I can't lose you when I fuck this up. Because I will fuck it up, Felicity, it's what I do.”

“Haven't you ever heard it's better to have loved and lost?” She asks quietly, aiming for facetious.

“I have lost,” he tells her seriously. “I'd rather love from afar and have those I love safe.” He squeezes her hand at this and she finally looks up at him.

“I don't want to be safe, Oliver,” she says, adamantly, before placing her hands on either side of his face and pulling him up towards her for a firm kiss. He covers her body with his, moving them backwards on the bed until they hit the pillows. He pulls away from the kiss, pulling the blankets over them as Felicity snuggles into him and he wraps his arms around her.

“One rule,” she says quietly after he's turned the light off. “You can't take all of this back when we get home. No running off to be by yourself and pretend none of this happened in the name of keeping me safe or whatever. If you're going to do that, then you should sleep on the couch.” She feels him tense underneath her and for a minute she thinks he is going to do just that. Even the preemptive rejection stings. It surprises her when she feels his arms tighten around her instead of loosen.

“Okay,” he murmurs against her hair. Felicity nods once before curling tighter against him and giving into her exhaustion. Deciding she'd simply have to hold him to his word.

 

Two weeks later, Felicity's got her phone pressed to her ear as she stands on her front porch and fumbles with her key ring, looking for her house keys.

“Yeah, I'm just getting home,” she tells the person on the other end of the call. A moment of clarity hits her and she drops the multitude of keys – most of which she's pretty sure go to absolutely nothing – and tries the handle. It turns and she pushes the door open, shaking her head at herself. She still wasn't used to having someone else home to unlock the door.

“So, when should I expect the Save The Date?” She asks, dropping the keys into her purse and stepping over the threshold. She smells food cooking – or possibly burning – in the kitchen and toes off her shoes.

“Sometime within the week, probably,” Arianna tells her and it sounds like she's shuffling with something on the other end of the line. There's a loud metal clang and triumphant squeal.

“There! I just dropped it in the mailbox.” Felicity laughs at her friend and drops her bag on the floor next to her heels before making her way towards the kitchen. “You're definitely going to be able to come, right?”

“I wouldn't miss it,” Felicity promises, stopping to stare at the calendar in the entryway. “When is it?” Arianna huffs in indignation.

“Isn't that what the Save The Date is for?” She asks and Felicity hears the beep of a car unlocking on the other end.

“Right,” Felicity laughs, shaking her head and continuing on her path to the kitchen.

“What about Oliver? He can come too, right? I think it might break Shane and Chester's poor hearts if he can't.” Arianna laughs on the other end as Felicity freezes in the doorway to the kitchen. She shrugs as her boyfriend turns to smile at her, flipping a pancake with a spatula.

“I don't know. It'll depend on what the Save The Date says,” she laughs again as Ari groans on the other end. “See the Catch-22 you've created for yourself here?”

“Whatever,” Arianna huffs, “those Save The Dates are gorgeous and I did not work both mine and Shane's asses off on them to just tell you when the wedding is over the phone.” Felicity shakes her head and takes a seat at the island.

“Is that Ari?” Oliver stage whispers, apparently satisfied with the pancake as he slides it onto a plate with a few others, all of varying shapes and shades of brown. Felicity nods and he mimes a wave at the phone. Felicity laughs and shakes her head at his antics. She'd liked Vigilante-Oliver well enough but she's finding out boyfriend-Oliver is much more fun.

“Oliver says hello,” she translates to Arianna and informs Oliver when her friend reciprocates. “He's cooking me dinner.”

“Uh-oh,” Arianna giggles and Oliver must hear it because he turns to glare at Felicity who smirks.

“Yeah,” she tells Arianna. “So, I'm gonna let you go and make sure my fire extinguisher is up to code.” The two say their goodbyes as Felicity watches Oliver pour more batter into the pan. She hangs up and sets her phone on the counter, the sound drawing Oliver's attention again.

“They finally set a date?” He asks and Felicity nods.

“She was literally mailing the Save The Dates as we spoke,” she explains, before coming around the island and wrapping her arms around Oliver's back, the material of his t-shirt soft against her cheek. “What's this?”

“Breakfast for dinner!” He declares, looking over his shoulder to grin at her. “That sound good?” She smiles softly at him as he turns in her arms to place his hands on her waist. She indicates the box of pancake mix on the counter with a smirk.

“I don't rate homemade pancakes?” She asks with a mock pout. He laughs and leans down to peck her lightly on the lips.

“You rate something edible,” he explains. “Chef Ramsey, I am not.” She shakes her head and grins.

“Boxed pancakes are perfect,” she tells him and he smiles, pleased, turning back to flip the pancake in the pan.

“Good,” he smirks, “because I was thinking we'd use the syrup for the pancakes and then later we'd find a more.. interesting use for it.” Felicity shakes her head and blushes lightly but plays along.

“Color me intrigued.” He steps towards where she's leaning against the island and dips his head to kiss her more fully.

“I'm not kidding,” he murmurs when he pulls back and she laughs and pulls him back down to her. He jolts at the smell of something burning and turns back to the stove.

“Shit!” He shouts, turning the heat down and prodding at the blackened pancake with the spatula. Felicity sighs and shakes her head.

“Damn, and I never checked the fire extinguisher.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is, friends! The end of the journey. A few things about the ending, in the original plan I was going to write out Sunday, the last day of the reunion, in full and ending it with their return to Starling City but this ending sort of happened to me and it's where the characters ended up taking me and I couldn't be happier about it. I hope it's satisfying for you all too!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented, liked, bookmarked, etc.! I appreciate all the feedback and look forward to continuing to hear people's thoughts now that this story has ended. If you had any particular feelings about the original characters I created, I'd love to hear it! If people seem attached to them it gives me motivation to maybe write more in this universe.


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